Feb. 4, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The sixth-ranked Irish women’s tennis team will look to bounce back after its first loss of the season as Notre Dame hits the road for its next two matches.
The Irish will take on Kansas Friday at 3:00 p.m. (CT), then face Michigan Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (ET).
The Jayhawks are 1-0 this season with a 6-1 win over Drake. Kansas is led by its 44th-ranked doubles tandem of Alessandra Dzuba and Maria Martinez. Notre Dame holds a 7-3 all-time record against Kansas. The last time the two teams met was in 2001 with the Irish coming away with a 7-0 victory.
The 19th-ranked Wolverines are 3-0 on the year with wins over Western Michigan, No. 16 South Carolina and No. 18 Arkansas. Michigan is led by Denise Muresan, the 36th-ranked singles player in the nation. The Irish and the Wolverines are common foes, playing at least once a year for the past 24 years and 27 of the last 29 seasons. Notre Dame holds a 20-9 advantage in the series and won both matches against Michigan in 2009, including a 4-1 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Notre Dame is 3-1 this season after splitting last weekend’s matches with No. 46 DePaul and No. 17 North Carolina. The Irish cruised past the Blue Demons, 6-1, before falling to the Tar Heels, 5-2, in their first loss of the season.
Leading the way for the Irish is No. 30 Kristy Frilling with a 4-0 record at No. 1 singles. Senior Kali Krisik also carries a perfect 4-0 mark at No. 4 and teams with Frilling for a 4-0 clip at No. 1 doubles. Senior Cosmina Ciobanu holds a 3-1 dual-match record at No. 5 singles, while freshman Chrissie McGaffigan is 3-1 at third singles for the Irish.
Complete results from both of this weekend’s matches will be available at www.und.com.
–ND–