Jan. 17, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The ninth-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team will open up its dual-match season on Sunday when they travel to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. The Irish will look to win their fourth consecutive season opener after defeating Illinois and Ohio State twice in the past three seasons. First serve is set for noon (ET) at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville,
This will be the third time the Irish meet up with Louisville, the second under head coach Jay Louderback. Overall, Notre Dame is 2-0 when matching up against Louisville, 1-0 under Louderback. The Irish victory under Louderback came last season, 6-1, on Feb. 9.
The Irish enter the spring season with six Monogram winners returning to compete. Notre Dame, who went 28-4 last season and finished ranked No. 7 nationally, only lost two starters with four remaining. Brook Buck, Kelcy Tefft, Cosmina Ciobanu and Colleen Rielley will all be back on the court starting for the Irish on Sunday.
Sunday’s competition will also be Louisville’s dual-match season opener as well as the first dual under new head coach Mark Beckham. Beckham, a Louisville graduate, served as an assistant coach with the Cardinals men’s and women’s tennis programs for 13 years. Louisville returns five starters from a squad that went 10-12 last season.
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