May 15, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame women’s tennis player Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) has been chosen the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Region Senior of the Year, it was announced Tuesday.
Mathews becomes the sixth Irish women’s player to be chosen the Midwest Region Senior of the Year, joining the company of Wendy Crabtree (’96), Michelle Dasso (’01), Alicia Salas (’04), Brook Buck (’08) and Kelcy Tefft (’09). She now enters into a group of 12 finalists from the various regional locations in hopes of being selected the ITA National Senior of the Year on May 22. The only Notre Dame players to have received that honor to-date are Dasso and Tefft.
On the year, Mathews put together an 18-7 dual season in singles and a 21-6 mark in doubles culminating in her being chosen the 2012 BIG EAST Player of the Year after the Irish claimed their fifth consecutive BIG EAST Championship.
After making the move to the No. 1 court in singles four matches into the dual season, Mathews posted a 14-7 ledger over the remainder of the season and won five matches against nationally-ranked opposition. Her highlight win of the season came on April 9, when she defeated seventh-ranked and previously unbeaten Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (13-11)) en route to the Irish earning a 6-1 victory over 21st-ranked Texas A&M.
Her doubles success saw her and fellow senior Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) post 12 wins against ranked foes on the season and reach the finals of the ITA National Individual Indoor Championship. Additionally, the Irish pairing became just the fourth duo in program history to rank as the top team in the country when they earned that spot in the March 13 poll.
Mathews is set to begin her draw in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship later this month. She earned the BIG EAST at-large selection to both tournaments, competing with Frilling in doubles. Both tournaments run May 23-28 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
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