March 3, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. – The 16th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team used a win by a first-time double team of freshman Lindsey Green and junior Kelly Zalinski at No. 3 doubles to hang on for a 5-4 win at 32nd-ranked Northwestern on Wednesday. The Irish won four of six singles match but lost at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles before Green and Zalinski clinched Notre Dame’s fifth straight win over Northwestern. The Irish improve to 7-4 with the win while the Wildcats fall to 6-3. Notre Dame’s next match will be against ninth-ranked Wake Forest at the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Sat., March 6 at 11:00 a.m.
Notre Dame sophomore and 10th-ranked Michelle Dasso and 40th-ranked Becky Varnum gave the Irish straight set singles wins. Dasso beat Katherine Nasser 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, while Varnum won 6-0, 7-5 over Colleen Cheng at No. 4 singles. Senior All-America Jennifer Hall rallied for a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over Shannon Duffy at No. 2 singles to improve to 10-1 in dual matches in 1999. Sophomore Kim Guy, playing in her first dual match of the year, held on for a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win over Jennifer Lutgert at No. 6 singles.
Northwestern’s Laura Guignon rallied to beat Marisa Velasco 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3 singles, and Lia Jackson downed Zalinski 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles for the Wildcats’ two singles wins.
Dasso and Hall, coming off three wins against top 20 teams including two against top 10 teams, lost 8-6 to Nasser and Guignon at No. 1 doubles. Varnum and Velasco fell 8-6 to Cheng and Jackson at No. 2 doubles. With the match tied at 4-4, Green and Zalinski beat Duffy and Leigh Weinraub 8-5 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the win.
Notre Dame’s win over Northwestern extended its winning streak against Midwest region opponents to 14 matches, dating back to a loss to Wisconsin in the 1997 NCAA Midwest Regional. The Irish have built a 35-4 record against other regional teams since the 1995 season, including 28 wins against Big 10 teams.
#16 NOTRE DAME 5, #32 NORTHWESTERN 4
Singles
No. 1: #10 Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Katherine Nasser (NU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2: #93 Jennifer Hall (ND) def. Shannon Duffy (NU) 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
No. 3: Laura Guignon (NU) def. Marisa Velasco (ND) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4: #40 Becky Varnum (ND) def. Colleen Cheng (NU) 6-0, 7-5
No. 5: Lia Jackson (NU) def. Kelly Zalinski (ND) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Kim Guy (ND) def. Jennifer Lutgert (NU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1: Guignon/Nasser (NU) def. #22 Dasso/Hall (ND) 8-6
No. 2: Cheng/Jackson (NU) def. Varnum/Velasco (ND) 8-6
No. 3: Lindsey Green/Zalinski (ND) def. Duffy/Leigh Weinraub (NU) 8-6