October 10, 1998

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame women’s tennis team sent four players into the finals of the first four singles flights on Saturday at the Buckeye Invitational at Ohio State. Three freshmen and junior Kelly Zalinski will look to win their flights on Sunday.

In Flight No. 1, freshman Becky Varnum beat Eastern Michigan’s Jean Kansuthi 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to win her third straight match after losing the first set. She will face Kansas’ 87th-ranked Kris Sell in the final after Sell beat Irish senior All-American Jennifer Hall 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals.

In Flight No. 2 singles, junior Kelly Zalinski beat Indiana’s Jessica Anderson 7-5, 6-1 to reach the final. In Flight No. 3, freshman Lindsey Green advanced to the finals with two straight-set wins. Green beat Marquette’s Sara Fernandez 6-2, 6-3 and Georgia Tech’s Xenia Vy 6-3, 6-3. She will face Iowa’s Emily Bampton in the final.

Freshman Nina Vaughan advanced to the final of Flight No. 4 with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Iowa’s Erica Johnson. Sophomore Kim Guy lost her second-round match 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Georgia Tech’s Mason Miller but rebounded to beat Bowling Green’s Deidre Bissinger 6-1, 6-2 in the consolation draw. She will play Xie for fifth place on Sunday.

In Flight No. 5, junior Sarah Scaringe and freshman Berica Day each lost in the second round. Scaringe dropped a 6-3, 6-4 to Kansas’ Julia Sidorova. Day fell 6-0, 6-2 to Maryland’s Kristine Curic.

In No. 1 doubles, Green and Scaringe lost 8-5 to the Eastern Michigan team of Kansuthi and Duhme in the first round and beat Ohio State’s Matko and Castko 9-7 in the consolation. In No. 2 doubles, Vaughan and Zalinski advanced to the semifinals with an 8-2 win over Kansas’ Sidorova and Chiller and an 8-4 win over Bittles and Pavelko of Maryland. Guy and Varnum lost in the first round but beat Marquette’s Berman and Dimasi 8-1 in the consolation draw. In No. 3 doubles Hall and Day lost both of their matches.