Jan. 30, 1997

No. 11 Notre Dame Flies by Illini

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s tennisteam, ranked No. 11 in the country by the Intercollegiate TennisAssociation, defeated Illinois by a 6-3 score on Thursday afternoon inthe opening dual match of the season for both teams.

The Irish did suffer a setback in the match when senior captain ErinGowen went down with a knee injury and had to default at No. 4 singles.Gowen, who missed much of her freshman season with a knee injury, willcontinue to be evaluated.

Notre Dame sophomore Jennifer Hall, the No. 46 ranked player in thecountry, was a winner at No. 1 singles over Stacy Schapiro by a 6-1,3-6, 6-3 score while classmate Marisa Velasco won at No. 2 singles overSusanne Lord (6-3, 6-4).

Senior Tiffany Gates, making her Irish debut, won at No. 3 singles overKara Loffelmacher by a 6-1, 6-2 count while junior Kelley Olson won atNo. 5 over Allison Gottlieb (6-4, 6-3).

NOTRE DAME 6, ILLINOIS 3

SinglesJennifer Hall (N) def. Stacy Schapiro, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Marisa Velasco (N)def. Susanne Lord, 6-3, 6-4; Tiffany Gates (N) def. Kara Loffelmacher,6-1, 6-2; Jessica Klapper (IL) def. Erin Gowen, 2-5, ret.; KellyZalinski (N) def. Lindsey Bruce, 6-2, 6-3; Kelley Olson (N) def. AllisonGottlieb (6-4, 6-3).DoublesScaringe and Hall (N) def. Land and Klapper, 8-5; Gates and Velasco (N)def. Schapiro and Loffelmacher, 9-8; Bruce and Laura Rydberg (I) def.Olson and Zalinski, 8-5.