May 16, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. – The Notre Dame women’s tennis team was eliminated from the NCAA Division I Championship Sunday afternoon, falling 4-1 to #9 Northwestern at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center. The Wildcats, the No. 10 overall seed in the tournament, won a tiebreaker to capture the doubles point and then were victorious in three of the four singles matches that were completed. Notre Dame lost a close match to the Wildcats for the second time this season, finishing 12-12. Northwestern, which won a third-set tiebreaker to defeat the Irish 4-3 during the regular season, won its 11th consecutive match to improve to 24-4 and finish 17-0 at home.
“Just like in the regular season, today I think you saw two teams going hard at it with great spirit,” said Northwestern head coach Claire Pollard. “Notre Dame was unlucky to lose to us twice this season. They played outstanding both times, but we were more fortunate on the big points when it mattered.”
The Wildcats won a pair of tight doubles matches and then registered straight-set singles victories at Nos. 1, 3 and 4.
The match’s initial point came down to a tiebreaker at No. 3. Ruth Barnes of England and Andrea Yung eventually prevailed over Notre Dame senior Emily Neighbours (Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor School) and junior Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.). A Wildcat return error and consecutive volley winners from Neighbours gave Notre Dame a 4-3 lead, but Barnes and Yung would win the next three points to take a 6-4 advantage and secure two match points. A Neighbours overhead saved the first one, but Yung moved up in the court and hit a backhand off Connelly’s racket on the ensuing point to deliver a 9-8 (7-5) victory and put Northwestern ahead 1-0. The Wildcat tandem had a pair of chances to serve out the match prior to the tiebreaker. Barnes and Yung had chances at 7-6 and 8-7, but both times the Irish broke serve to prolong the match.
Notre Dame continued its struggles when the doubles point is decided by one final match left on the court. The Irish won just twice in seven such situations this spring. Notre Dame also lost the team match for the 12th consecutive time when dropping the doubles point.
The Irish appeared to have a leg up in taking the doubles point when senior co-captain Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) and sophomore Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) registered an 8-3 victory at No. 2 against Jamie Peisel and Alexis Prousis. The Wildcats led 3-0 before the Irish duo took eight consecutive games for the victory. Connelly and Salas finished the season on a nine-match winning streak and with a 24-7 record, including 18-5 in dual matches at No. 2. Peisel and Prousis have lost just seven times in dual matches this season and two of those defeats came vs. Connelly and Salas.
The Irish had chances to win at No. 1, as well. Freshman twins Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.), ranked 36th, were up a service break on two occasions, and the score was tied 7-7 when the third-ranked team in college tennis, Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush, won eight consecutive points, holding serve and then breaking at love for a 9-7 triumph. The Wildcat duo won its ninth in a row, dating back to a 9-8 (7-5) loss to the Thompsons on April 15, to improve to 38-5 this season, including 25-4 in dual matches.
The doubles matches were very similar to those in the regular-season matchup, when Notre Dame got an 8-5 win at No. 2, while the other two matches were close. On that occasion, the Irish won the No. 1 match in a tiebreaker and took the No. 3 contest by a 9-7 score.
“I think the doubles point was the key today,” said Irish head coach Jay Louderback. “Northwestern just played well at the end in both of the last matches. After losing the doubles, I knew it was going to be tough to win four in singles.”
Northwestern took a 2-0 lead when Grier, ranked third in the nation, beat 22nd-ranked Salas 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1. The Irish captain aggravated an injury in the bottom of her right foot in the first game, which she won, and had trouble moving throughout the match. Grier won her 19th consecutive match and improved to 37-3 this season and 27-1 in dual matches. In her career, she holds a 52-1 record at No. 1 singles. Salas and Grier have met six times over the past two seasons, with the Wildcat winning five of them.
“I have been really impressed with her (Grier) every time I’ve played her,” said Salas, who has played 27 matches against ranked foes this season, winning 15. “I think she played better today than she ever has against me. I think she has a good shot at winning the NCAA singles title. Today she played just as well or better than anyone I’ve played all season.”
Notre Dame got on the board when sophomore Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) completed a 6-3, 6-2 win over Andrea Yung at No. 5. Stastny beat Yung for the second time this season after the Wildcat registered a 6-1, 6-2 victory in last year’s dual match.
Prousis put Northwestern within a point of triumph by beating Catrina Thompson 7-5, 6-1 in a battle of freshmen at No. 3. She is 31-9 this season, including 24-5 in dual action. Prousis dropped just three games in winning in straight sets last month.
After winning a third-set tiebreaker to clinch Northwestern’s regular-season win over the Irish, Peisel duplicated the feat, this time with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Lauren Connelly at No. 4. Connelly appeared poised to send the match to a third set, leading 5-2 in the second, but the Wildcat won five straight games to clinch Northwestern’s victory. Peisel has won 16 in a row and is 20-6 in dual matches this spring, including 15-1 at No. 4.
The Wildcats were up a set and a service break in one of the abandoned matches, while Notre Dame was up a break in the third set of the other one.
Connie Chiang won the first set 7-5 against Sarah Jane Connelly at No. 6 and was up 4-3 in the second when Peisel won her match. Chiang won just three games in losing to Connelly last month.
The No. 2 match was in a third set, as Christian Thompson won the first 6-2, while 44th-ranked Jessica Rush took the second 6-3. Thompson, who fell in straight sets last month, was up 2-1 in the third.
The Wildcats will next face fourth-ranked and seventh-seeded Duke in the round of 16 on Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Northwestern beat Notre Dame for the fifth consecutive time.
The season is not over for three Irish players. Salas will take part in the NCAA Singles Championship, which begins Monday, May 24 in Athens, Ga., while the Thompsons will participate in the NCAA doubles tournament, which commences the following day. Both culminate on May 29.
[10] #9 Northwestern 4, [17-32] #29 Notre Dame 1
Singles
No. 1 #3 Cristelle Grier (NU) d. #22 Alicia Salas (ND) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 Christian Thompson (ND) led #44 Jessica Rush (NU) 6-2, 3-6, 2-1, abandoned
No. 3 Alexis Prousis (NU) d. Catrina Thompson (ND) 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 *Jamie Peisel (NU) d. Lauren Connelly (ND) 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 Kristina Stastny (ND) d. Andrea Yung (NU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 Connie Chiang (NU) led Sarah Jane Connelly (ND) 7-5, 4-3, abandoned
Order of finish: 1, 5, 3, 4*
Doubles
No. 1 #3 Grier/Rush (NU) d. #36 Thompson/Thompson (ND) 9-7
No. 2 L. Connelly/Salas (ND) d. Peisel/Prousis (NU) 8-3
No. 3 !Ruth Barnes/Yung (NU) d. S.J. Connelly/Emily Neighbours (ND) 9-8 (7-5)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3!