April 9, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 15th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team won six singles in straight sets and swept the doubles match to roll to a 9-0 win over visiting BYU on Friday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish clinched the match with five singles in under an hour and a half to improve to 17-6 on the year, while BYU falls to 5-13. Notre Dame plays its final home match of the regular season on Sun., April 11, when the Irish take on ninth-ranked William & Mary at 12:00 p.m.
Irish freshman Lindsey Green was first off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Shari Smith at No. 6 singles. Junior Kelly Zalinski then closed out Tara Ferguson 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles. Eighth-ranked Notre Dame sophomore Michelle Dasso won nine consecutive games before BYU’s Gee Gee Garvin retired with an injury at 6-4, 5-0 at No. 1 singles. Becky Varnum beat Kim Kelly 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles as Notre Dame’s 69th-ranked freshman won five straight games to win the match. Senior two-time All-American Jennifer Hall clinched the win by winning the last nine games of the match to beat Jodi Richardson 7-5, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.
BYU’s Brooke Leavens rallied from 0-5 in the second set and saved two match points in the tiebreaker before Irish senior Marisa Velasco held on for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win at No. 3 singles to complete the singles sweep for Notre Dame, marking the eighth time in 23 matches this year the Irish have won all six singles matches.
In doubles, Varnum and Velasco beat Ferguson and Smith 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and the eight ranked team of Dasso and Hall won the final five games of the set to beat Kelly and Richardson 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. Green and Zalinski improved to 10-2 with their 8-3 win over Khushchehr Italia and Leavens at No. 3 doubles to complete the 9-0 sweep for the Irish, the third shutout in four matches for Notre Dame.
#15 NOTRE DAME 9, BYU 0
Singles
No. 1: #8 Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Gee Gee Garvin (BYU) 6-4, 5-0, retired
No. 2: #62 Jennifer Hall (ND) def. Jodi Richardson (BYU) 7-5, 6-0
No. 3: Marisa Velasco (ND) def. Brooke Leavens (BYU) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 4: #69 Becky Varnum (ND) def. Kim Kelly (BYU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 5: Kelly Zalinski (ND) def. Tara Ferguson (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Lindsey Green (ND) def. Shari Smith (BYU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1: #8 Dasso/Hall (ND) def. Kelly/Richardson (BYU) 8-5
No. 2: Varnum/Velasco (ND) def. Ferguson/Smith (BYU) 8-3
No. 3: Green/Zalinski (ND) def. Khushchehr Italia/Leavens (BYU) 8-3