Feb. 13, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – With competition getting underway on Thursday, the No. 14 Notre Dame women’s tennis team will play host to three matches this weekend in only its second time home this dual-match season. Action kicks off against Ohio State on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 3:30 p.m. (ET) and continues Friday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. against Wisconsin. The Irish wrap up the weekend against South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 17 with the first serve set for 10 a.m. All matches will be played at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
This will be the 19th match-up between Notre Dame and Ohio State with the Irish leading the all-time series, 15-3. Head coach Jay Louderback holds a confident 12-1 record against the Buckeyes and Notre Dame is 7-1 against Ohio State when playing at home. The two teams met just a year ago with the Irish taking the win, 7-0. Notre Dame will look to increase a 12-match win streak against Ohio State this weekend.
The Wisconsin women’s tennis squad comes into this weekend ranked 74th in collegiate tennis, its highest ranking of the season. This year’s match will mark the 23rd time the two institutions have faced each other in dual-match action. Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 15-7, with the Irish 15-5 under Louderback. When the two teams met a season ago, the Irish took control of the match, sweeping the Badgers 7-0.
South Florida will be the highest-ranked team the Irish will face this weekend. The Bulls are currently ranked 31st in the nation and will be the first BIG EAST competition Notre Dame faces this season in dual action. Behind the 14th-ranked Irish, they are the highest ranked BIG EAST team in collegiate action.
This will be the third meeting between the two squads with South Florida leading the series, 2-1. The last meeting came a year ago when the Bulls defeated the Irish, 4-3, in the BIG EAST final to win the BIG EAST title. The meeting before that was only a year prior in 2006 when the teams faced each other for the first time in the BIG EAST final, that time with the Irish successful, defeating the Bulls, 4-1, for the BIG EAST Championship.
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