Kristy Frilling clinched the Irish berth into the BIG EAST Championship with her singles victory at the No. 2 court.

No. 19 Irish Set For Senior Day Matchup With No. 40 USF

April 12, 2012

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 19th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team brings its home schedule to a close as it plays host to 40th-ranked USF at 3:30 p.m. (ET) Friday at the Courtney Tennis Center. Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) look to close with a victory on Senior Day.

Frilling and Mathews have enjoyed illustrious careers with the Irish, with Frilling having accumulated 221 combined singles and doubles victories and Mathews right behind her with 191 total wins. This season, the pairing has combined to post 14 wins on the dual season at the No. 1 court and briefly climbed to the top spot in the nation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) doubles rankings.

Currently the duo ranks fifth in the standing while having posted a total of nine wins on the year against ranked opposition. Individually, Mathews continues to represent the highest ranked Irish player in singles, checking at 54th with a 15-7 dual record. Frilling currently sits 105th in singles and has put together a 13-9 dual record.

USF comes into the weekend sporting a 15-7 record while having won seven of its last nine contests, highlighted by a 5-2 victory over No. 45 Boston College. Ecaterina Vasenina leads the way for the Bulls in singles play, currently ranking 42nd in the nation with a 13-6 dual record. Vasenina also teams with Loreta Alonso Martinez to lead the doubles squad. The duo ranks 49th nationally and carries a 12-5 record.

Notre Dame and USF have met nine times in program history and continually since the ’06 season. The Irish currently hold a 6-3 edge in the series and are a perfect 3-0 against the Bulls in home contests. Most recently, the two teams met for the 2011 BIG EAST Championship with Notre Dame prevailing 4-2. The winner of Friday’s match also will get conference bragging right for the time being as both squads enter the match with perfect 3-0 conference ledgers.

Admission to the match is free of charge. For those fans unable to attend, live stats will be provided through the women’s tennis schedule page at UND.com and be sure to check back with UND.com following the match for a complete recap of the Irish.

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