March 10, 2009
NOTRE DAME, ind. – The fourth-ranked Irish women’s tennis team will head south this week for a three-match road swing beginning Wednesday.
Notre Dame will travel to Tampa, Fla., for a 1:00 p.m. matchup with BIG EAST foe South Florida on Wednesday.
The Bulls are 2-7 on the season, but are coming off a 5-2 upset of No. 35 Ohio State on Sunday.
The Irish will make the short trip to Orlando, Fla., on Thursday to face third-ranked Duke at noon.
The Blue Devils are 10-1 after defeating Central Florida, 7-0, on March 6 and pulled off a 4-3 upset of No. 1 Northwestern on Feb. 28. Duke has five singles players ranked in the top 75 with sophomore Ellah Nze leading the way at 24. Freshman Mallory Cecil is ranked 28th, followed by sophomore Reka Zsilinska at 30, junior Tara Iyer at 37 and junior Amanda Granson at 66. The doubles duo of Melissa Mang and Granson is ranked 11th nationally.
Notre Dame will wrap up its road swing against No. 7 Georgia Tech at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 5-2 win over No. 17 Florida State on Sunday that improved their overall record to 7-4. Georgia Tech has four ranked singles players with freshman Irina Falconi coming in at No. 5. Defending NCAA singles champion Amanda McDowell is ranked 18th, followed by senior Christy Striplin at 44 and sophomore Noelle Hickey at 53. McDowell and Falconi team up as the sixth-ranked doubles team, followed by Striplin and Hickey at 16.
The Irish are 12-1 this season after a 7-0 victory over Iowa at the Eck Tennis Pavilion last weekend. The Irish found three singles players in the rankings this week. Senior Kelcy Tefft sits at 31, followed by freshman Kristy Frilling at 55 and sophomore Kristen Rafael at 114. Tefft and Frilling are the second-ranked doubles duo in the nation, followed by Tefft and junior Kali Krisik at No. 3.
Complete results will be available at www.und.com following each match.
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