March 26, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will return home for its final two-match weekend of the season when the Irish welcome Atlantic Coast Conference opponent North Carolina State and former BIG EAST rival Marquette to the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
The 36th-ranked Irish (10-6, 5-3 ACC) will take on the Wolfpack (9-8, 0-6 ACC) at 3 p.m. EDT on Friday. They will welcome the Golden Eagles (9-7) for a noon EDT first serve on Sunday.
The Irish will look to snag their first two-win weekend for the first time since defeating both Louisville and Pittsburgh on the road on February 20 and 22. Notre Dame sports a combined 20-1 advantage over both N.C. State and Marquette.
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IRISH NOTABLES
AGAINST THE WOLFPACK: The Irish have faced N.C. State just twice in dual competition, with Notre Dame holding a 2-0 advantage in the series. The teams first met in 2013 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, when the Irish defeated the Wolfpack 4-1. They met again in 2014 in Notre Dame’s inaugural year in the ACC, with the Irish scoring a 6-1 win in Raleigh. This season, the Wolfpack is 9-8 on the season and 0-6 in conference play.
MARKING MARQUETTE: This will be the 20th meeting between Notre Dame and Marquette in a series dating to 1985. The Irish hold an 18-1 edge in the series, with the Irish have never fallen to the Golden Eagles in 14 meetings under head coach Jay Louderback. Last season, the Irish defeated the Golden Eagles 7-0 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion, which kicked off a string of five matches in which the Irish defeated their opponents by that score. The Golden Eagles are 9-7 on the season, with all seven losses coming away from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
RANKINGS UPDATE: In the latest ITA team poll (March 24), Notre Dame fell four spots to No. 36 after splitting weekend matches against No. 67 Florida State, 4-3, and No. 57 Georgia Tech, 3-4. In the latest individual polls (March 24), Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson moved up a spot to No. 20 in the doubles rankings.
DOUBLE DUTY: Since starting the season 2-2, 20th-ranked doubles tandem Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson have been on a tear of late, winning eight of their last 10 for an 10-4 dual match record at No. 1 doubles. The pair also top the Irish singles lineup, with Gleason holding a 7-7 record at No. 1 and Robinson posting an 8-8 record between No. 1 and No. 2.
TOP-NOTCH GLEASON: Junior Quinn Gleason currently ranks 15th all-time in Irish history in singles dual-match winning percentage (minimum 20 matches). Her 44-20 (.686) record thus far puts her just behind former teammate Jennifer Kellner (’14, .700, T-14th) and ahead of Britney Sanders (’14, .660, 16th).
CONFERENCE CONFIDENCE: The Irish are off to a 5-3 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which has bested their introduction to the ACC last year. 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 currently sit in sixth place behind North Carolina, Duke, Miami, Virginia and Clemson.
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
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