March 6, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind.- – The 14th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team dropped a tough match Sunday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion, falling to seventh-ranked Baylor, 4-3. The loss moves the Irish record to 8-5 on the season, and snaps the team’s five-match winning streak.
In doubles, Kristen Rafael (Grand Prairie, Texas) and Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa) fell to Diana Nakic and Sona Novakova at No. 2 doubles, 8-4, to force the Irish into a must-win situation at the remaining two courts.
The 26th-ranked duo of Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) responded, continuing their recent hot streak in defeating Nina Secerbegovic and Jelena Stanivuk, 8-6, at the No. 1 position. The junior pairing has won seven straight doubles matches for the Irish.
The final match at No. 3 doubles saw the freshman pairing of Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Julie Sabacinski (Plantation, Fla.) surrender an early 5-1 advantage against Karolina Filipiak and Taylor Ormond to trail 5-6 before jostling their way into a tiebreak to determine the doubles point. The Irish, however, could not emerge victorious, dropping a hard-fought 9-8 (8-6) decision.
The Bears then quickly jumped on the Irish at the outset of singles competition, claiming the first three points and clinching the match. For the first time on the dual year, 32nd-ranked Mathews lost a decision, succumbing to 51st-ranked Secerbegovic at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-2. The junior had put together an 11-match unbeaten streak to begin the dual season.
McGaffigan then fell to #94 Stanivuk at No. 5 singles (6-1, 6-2) to move the contest to match point, followed by #95 Rafael falling to #36 Nakic at No. 3 singles (6-3, 6-4) to clinch the match for the visitors.
The Irish did not quit, however, battling back to capture a pair of three-set victories at No. 1 and 4 singles, respectively. Frilling, ranked third, recovered after dropping the first set 2-6 to #11 Novakova to claim the second and third sets, 6-3, 6-3 and get the Irish on the scoreboard.
Kellner, ranked 112th, also rallied after dropping the first set (4-6) against #70 Filipiak to claim the second set (6-3) and eventually claim the point with a third set superset victory, 1-0 (11-9).
The remaining match, Sabacinski versus Ormond at No. 6 singles, saw Sabacinski claim the victory by default after dropping the opening set to Ormond, 6-3, before the match was conceeded.
The Irish next return to action March 15 in Tampa, Fla., when they open up a three-match slate against the likes of USF, Duke and Tennessee. The opening match against USF is slated to get underway at 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Baylor vs. Notre DameMar 06, 2011 at Notre Dame, Ind.#7 Baylor 4, #14 Notre Dame 3
Singles competition1. #3 Kristy Frilling (ND) def. #11 Sona Novakova (BAY) 2-6, 6-3, 6-32. #51 Nina Secerbegovic (BAY) def. #32 Shannon Mathews (ND) 6-1, 6-23. #36 Diana Nakic (BAY) def. #95 Kristen Rafael (ND) 6-3, 6-44. #112 Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. #70 Karolina Filipiak (BAY) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (11-9)5. #94 Jelena Stanivuk (BAY) def. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) 6-1, 6-26. Julie Sabacinski (ND) def. Taylor Ormond (BAY) 3-6, default
Doubles competition1. #26 Kristy Frilling/Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Nina Secerbegovic/Jelena Stanivuk (BAY) 8-62. Diana Nakic/Sona Novakova (BAY) def. Chrissie McGaffigan/Kristen Rafael (ND) 8-43. Karolina Filipiak/Taylor Ormond (BAY) def. Jennifer Kellner/Julie Sabacinski (ND) 9-8 (8-6)
Match Notes:Baylor 7-1; National ranking #7Notre Dame 8-5; National ranking #14Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,3,1,4,6)
–ND–