Jennifer Kellner's win at No. 4 singles advanced the Irish to the semifinals of the 2012 BIG EAST Championship.

Top-Seeded Irish Advance To Semifinals With 4-0 Victory Over Rutgers

April 20, 2012

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – Entering the BIG EAST Tournament as the top seed for the 16th time in 17 seasons since joining the conference, the University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over Rutgers Friday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

In their 11 quarterfinal matches since joining the BIG EAST, the Irish have now advanced into the semifinals each time without dropping a single point in any of the matches. The Irish claimed the doubles point in easy fashion, as fifth-ranked Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) knocked off Vanessa Petrini and Jennifer Holzberg at No. 1, 8-1, before sophomores Britney Sanders (Ontario, Calif.) and Julie Sabacinski (Plantation, Fla.) defeated Morgan Ivey and Lindsay Balsamo by an identical 8-1 score at the No. 2 court to clinch the point.

With the point in hand, the match between the Irish duo of junior Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Rutgers’ team of Stefania Balsamo and Satreethai Sasinin was abandoned with Notre Dame leading 7-2.

Frilling was first to close out her day in singles play, winning 12 consecutive games over Holzberg to complete a shutout victory, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2. The win improved the Irish senior to 16-9 on the dual season and 14-7 since making the move to court two.

Freshman Katherine White (Columbus, Ga.), making her third consecutive appearance in the singles lineup, moved the Irish to match point at the No. 6 court. White took on Sasinin in the contest, pulling away for a 6-0, 6-2 triumph. The victory marked her third consecutive and pushed her overall dual record to 7-7.

Kellner then closed out the quarterfinal contest, defeating S. Balsamo at No. 4, 6-4, 6-1, to claim her 50th career victory with the Irish. The sophomore has now won five consecutive matches since moving to court four and posted a 19-5 overall mark on the dual season.

The remaining three singles matches were abandoned with Mathews leading Petrini at No. 1 singles (6-2, 5-2), Sanders leading Ivey at No. 3 singles (0-6, 6-1, 2-0) and McGaffigan leading L. Balsamo at No. 5 singles (6-4, 2-4).

Notre Dame takes to the court for its quarterfinal matchup Saturday at 9 a.m. (ET) at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Irish will face the winner of the matchup between fourth-seeded DePaul and fifth-seeded Georgetown. Be sure to check back with UND.com following the match for a complete recap and for in-match updates follow @NDWomensTennis.

Notre Dame vs RutgersUSF Varsity Tennis Courts (Tampa, Fla.)#1 Notre Dame 4, #8 Rutgers 0
Singles Competition:1. Shannon Mathews (ND) vs. Vanessa Petrini (RU) 6-2, 5-2 DNF2. Kristy Frilling (ND) def. Jennifer Holzberg (RU) 6-0, 6-03. Britney Sanders (ND) vs. Morgan Ivey (RU) 0-6, 6-1, 2-0 DNF4. Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. Stefania Balsamo (RU) 6-4, 6-1*5. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) vs. Lindsay Balsamo (RU) 6-4, 2-4 DNF6. Katherine White (ND) def. Satreethai Sasinin (RU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles Competition:1. Kristy Frilling/Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Vanessa Petrini/Jennifer Holzberg (RU) 8-12. Julie Sabacinski/Britney Sanders (ND) def. Morgan Ivey/Lindsay Balsamo (RU) 8-1*3. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) vs. Stefania Balsamo/Satreethai Sasinin (RU) 7-2 DNF
Match Notes:Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2*); Singles (2, 6, 4*)* - clinching point

–ND–