Sept. 8, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish women’s tennis squad had three players earn preseason rankings, while two doubles teams were ranked in the top 40, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced Friday.
Sophomore Kristy Frilling, the 2009 ITA National Player to Watch, was the 20th-ranked singles player on the preseason list. She teamed with senior Kali Krisik to earn the 15th spot on the preseason doubles list.
Sophomore Shannon Mathews placed 94th in singles, while senior Cosmina Ciobanu was 125th in the preseason poll.
The doubles duo of junior Kristen Rafael and freshman Christine McGaffigan were ranked 38th.
Frilling capped off one of the most successful freshman campaigns in Irish history last season. The Sidney, Ohio native earned doubles All-America honors and advanced to the second round of both the NCAA singles and doubles championships. Frilling went 30-11 overall in singles play, including a 21-9 mark in dual action. She recorded a 37-5 doubles mark with former partner Kelcy Tefft and was 40-6 overall in doubles.
Mathews finished her freshman season with the Irish, earning NCAA all-tournament doubles honors. The Birmingham, Mich., native helped the Irish advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in school history with a thrilling three-set point-clinching win over Baylor’s Csilla Borsanyi in the quarterfinals. In singles action, Mathews went 33-7 overall and 27-3 in dual matches. She was 32-15 in doubles matches as a freshman.
Ciobanu went 24-8 in singles matches, including 21-5 in dual action, and had a 27-10 doubles record last season. She was a constant at No. 2 doubles and No. 3 singles for the Irish a year ago.
Krisik was 34-13 in doubles action last season and was a mainstay at second doubles with Ciobanu. The duo went 21-7 overall and 18-7 in dual matches for the Irish.
McGaffigan joins the Irish this season as a five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked women’s tennis player in the state of Iowa. She went 15-4 in 2008, won the National Interscholastic Championship and advanced to the round of 16 at the 2008 USTA National Open.
Frilling and Krisik have also been selected to compete at the 2009 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships Oct. 8-11. Frilling was one of 24 players selected for the Main Singles Draw. She will team with Krisik as one of 12 teams in the Main Doubles Draw.
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