Jan. 16, 2017
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Three University of Notre Dame women’s tennis seniors have been named captains for the 2017 season, head coach Jay Louderback has announced.
Mary Closs, Jane Fennelly and Monica Robinson have assumed leadership responsibilities for the Irish on the verge of their final season, set to begin Sunday with a doubleheader against Western Michigan and Wright State at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
“Our three seniors bring a variety of leadership qualities to our program,” Louderback said. “All three have the same goal – to finish this year on a high note. We are counting on them to be mentors to our freshman class.”
A three-year starter for the Irish, Closs enters the 2017 dual season with a 57-47 career singles record and a 47-51 mark in doubles. She is also a two-time Rosenthal Leadership Academy attendee.
Fennelly has made the starting lineup for the past two seasons for the Irish, owning a 33-38 singles record and 42-29 doubles mark. She is a Rosenthal Leadership Academy participant and is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
Robinson has also started all three seasons for the Irish, occupying the No. 2 singles slot and No. 1 doubles position in each of the last two seasons. As a sophomore, she was named to the All-ACC Third Team and qualified for both the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and the NCAA Doubles Championship. She owns the current winningest singles record on the team with a 59-39 mark and is 53-35 in her doubles career. Robinson is also a two-time Rosenthal participant and a member of SAAC.
The Irish will kick off the 2017 spring season at 10 a.m. ET Sunday against Western Michigan before turning their attention to Wright State at 3 p.m. ET at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.