Freshman Allison Miller

No. 31 Notre Dame Welcomes No. 17 Miami On Friday

April 9, 2015

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 31 University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will look to continue its four-match winning streak when it welcomes a talented Miami squad to the Courtney Tennis Center on Friday.

The Fighting Irish (14-6, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are winners in six of their last seven matches, but hope to stop a five-match losing streak to the No. 17 Hurricanes that dates back to 2004. The teams will square off at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday at the Courtney Tennis Center.

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IRISH NOTABLES
HURRICANE SEASON: Friday’s will be the 20th all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Miami in a series with roots dating to the early 1990s, spanning both schools’ participation in the BIG EAST and Atlantic Coast conferences. Though the Irish own an 11-8 all-time edge over the Hurricanes, Miami has gotten the better of Notre Dame twice since the Irish entered the ACC last season. Then-No. 22 Notre Dame fell to then-No. 17 Miami 6-1 last season in Coral Gables, Florida, during the regular season, then 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championships. Heading into the contest, the Hurricanes have lost two of their last three matches — including their first two losses in conference play — but remain tied for second in the ACC standings. The Hurricanes are one of three programs in the country with four doubles teams ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

WEATHER INTERFERENCE: With both Fighting Irish men’s and women’s tennis teams scheduled to play at 3:30 p.m. EDT at the Courtney Tennis Center, any inclement weather that forces the matches indoors will result in a slight scheduling change. Should the teams play inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion, the Irish men’s team will face off with Clemson at the original 3:30 p.m. EDT time, while the women’s match with No. 17 Miami will immediately follow.

RANKINGS UPDATE: In the latest ITA team poll (April 7), Notre Dame jumped nine spots to No. 31 after wins on the road at Wake Forest and then-No. 34 Virginia Tech (current No. 42). The Irish have won four matches in a row and six of their last seven.

DOUBLE DUTY: Since starting the season 2-2, 27th-ranked doubles tandem Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson have been on a tear of late, winning 10 of their last 12 for an 12-5 dual match record at No. 1 doubles. The pair also top the Irish singles lineup, with Gleason holding a 11-7 record at No. 1 and Robinson posting an 11-9 record between No. 1 and No. 2.

FROM THE BOTTOM UP: The Irish have excelled at the bottom half of their singles lineup this season, with contributions on Courts 4, 5 and 6 proving valuable. Notre Dame owns a .603 (35-23) winning percentage at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, while their winning percentage at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 falls behind at .542 (32-27). The Irish get their best winning percentage on Court 5 (.684, 13-6), which is most often occupied by Allison Miller. The freshman owns an 11-5 record at No. 5, and is 14-5 in dual play this season (3-0 at No. 4).

ACC DOUBLES STAND OUT: The Atlantic Coast Conference owns six of the top 30 spots in the ITA Doubles rankings, including Robinson and Gleason.

TOP-NOTCH GLEASON: Junior Quinn Gleason currently ranks 14th all-time in Irish history in singles dual-match winning percentage (minimum 20 matches). Her 48-20 (.705) record thus far puts her just ahead of former teammates Jennifer Kellner (’14, .700, T-15th) and Britney Sanders (’14, .660, 16th).

CONFERENCE CONFIDENCE: The Irish are 8-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, matching their conference win total from last season with three conference matches remaining. Last season, Notre Dame opened the conference slate 0-4 before going 8-2 the rest of the season to finish 7th (of 15) in the standings. The Irish are currently tied for fifth place with Clemson behind North Carolina, Duke, Miami and Virginia.

RETURN TO REGULAR SCORING: The Atlantic Coast Conference has moved to re-implement the regular scoring format utilized in 2014. To begin the season, matches have been played with no-ad scoring, based on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s recommendations for increasing pace of play. Going forward, all conference matches will once again include an eight-game pro-set for the doubles point with a tiebreak at 7-7, and advantage scoring will be used. For women’s play, doubles play will be stopped once the doubles point is clinched, and singles will utilize a match tiebreak (first to 10 by two) in lieu of a third set once the match is clinched.

Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant

–ND–