Feb. 24, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Aided by a complete single and doubles effort, the 23rd-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team posted a 6-1 victory over 74th-ranked Indiana at the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Friday. The Irish claimed victories in five of six singles contests after sweeping the doubles point.
Sophomores Britney Sanders (Ontario, Calif.) and Julie Sabacinski (Plantation, Fla.) wasted little time getting doubles underway, recording an 8-0 victory over Kayla Fujimoto and Evgeniya Vertesheva at No. 2 doubles. The victory is the second of the season for the Irish pairing and represents only the second time this season that the Irish have recorded a flawless doubles match.
Seniors Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) then clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 triumph over Sophie Garre and Katie Klyczek at No. 1 doubles. The third-ranked Irish duo led 4-1 before seeing the Hoosier tandem even the set at 4-4. After trading the next two games, Frilling and Mathews reeled off the final three games to notch their sixth win of the dual season and push the Irish out to the early 1-0 advantage.
Junior Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) finished off the doubles sweep, knocking off Leslie Hureau and Alecia Kauss, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles. The victory improves the Irish duo to 6-3 on the year.
The middle of the Irish singles lineup continued to impose their will on opposition as #124 Kellner took down Klyczek at No. 3 (6-4, 6-2) before Sanders finished off Carolyn Chupa at No. 4 (6-3, 7-5). Sanders trailed Chupa 3-0 in the second before claiming seven of the next nine games to close out the straight-sets victory. With the wins, Kellner improves to 7-2 in dual matches while Sanders moves to 9-1 and has now won four consecutive matches.
Needing one more point to secure the victory, the Irish turned to the top of their lineup as #39 Mathews won over Hureau, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 1 singles. The win improves Mathews to 8-2 overall in dual matches and bumps her to 4-2 since taking over at the No. 1 court.
McGaffigan and Frilling moved the margin to 6-0, defeating Kauss (6-4, 6-4) and Vertesheva (6-4, 6-4) at No. 5 and 2 singles, respectively. The victory for McGaffigan ends a brief two-match losing skid and improves her to 5-4 overall on the dual slate, while Frilling has now won four consecutive contests and sits at 7-3.
The lone setback of the day came at No. 6 singles, where freshman Katherine White (Columbus, Ga.) lost a three-set match to Fujimoto, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3), who remains undefeated in dual contests.
The Irish return to the courts Sunday morning as they face off with 16th-ranked Georgia Tech at 9:00 a.m. (ET). Be sure to check back with UND.com as the Irish look to cap off a weekend sweep with a victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Indiana vs. Notre DameFeb 24, 2012 at Notre Dame, Ind. (Eck Tennis Pavilion)#23 Notre Dame 6, #74 Indiana 1
Singles competition1. #39 Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Leslie Hureau (IU) 6-2, 6-42. Kristy Frilling (ND) def. Evgeniya Vertesheva (IU) 6-4, 6-43. #124 Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. Katie Klyczek (IU) 6-4, 6-24. Britney Sanders (ND) def. Carolyn Chupa (IU) 6-3, 7-55. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Alecia Kauss (IU) 6-4, 6-46. Kayla Fujimoto (IU) def. Katherine White (ND) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3)
Doubles competition1. #3 Kristy Frilling/Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Sophie Garre/Katie Klyczek (IU) 8-52. Julie Sabacinski/Britney Sanders (ND) def. Kayla Fujimoto/Evgeniya Vertesheva (IU) 8-03. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Leslie Hureau/Alecia Kauss (IU) 8-6
Match Notes:Indiana 8-3; National ranking #74Notre Dame 7-3; National ranking #23Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,4,1,5,2,6)