May 17, 2001

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — The eighth-ranked and 13th-seeded Notre Dame women’s tennis team saw its season come to end on Thursday in the NCAA round of 16, as fourth-seeded Florida beat the Irish 4-1 at the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga. The Gators won the doubles point and then won a long, three-set match at No. 1 singles to clinch the win. They advance to the quarterfinals to face Washington. The Irish end their season with a 25-5 record, the most wins and fewest losses under 12th-year head coach Jay Louderback. The wins are the most since the 1986 team won 28, and the losses match the fewest ever since in the team began playing a spring season in 1981.

Florida started the doubles point with an 8-2 win at No. 2 and then won a tight match at No. 1 doubles to take a 1-0 lead. The undefeated and fourth-ranked Gator pair of Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnoff edged the seventh-ranked Irish duo of senior All-American Michelle Dasso and junior Becky Varnum 8-6, snapping their 22 match winning streak at No. 1 doubles. Juniors Lindsey Green and Nina Vaughan were tied at No. 6 doubles when the point was won.

The teams split first sets in the six singles matches, with the Irish winning at Nos. 2, 5 and 6. The 46th-ranked Dawaf downed 91st-ranked Vaughan 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 doubles for a 2-0 Florida lead. Hazlett rallied from 0-5 in the second set to down Irish freshman Caylan Leslie 6-3, 7-5 for a 3-0 lead.

Nearing elimination, Notre Dame was determined as ever with Green rallying from 3-5 in the third set for a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles over 81st-ranked Scaringe, sister of former Irish player Sarah Scaringe. Third-ranked Dasso trailed 1-5 in the third set and fought off three match points against seventh-ranked Laiho at No. 1 singles. After Laiho led 40-15 at 5-3 in the final set, Dasso pulled even to deuce and nearly brought the decisive set back on serve but Laiho was able to end the comeback with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win for her 100th career singles victory.

Guy and Varnum had their matches abandoned once Florida had earned its hard-fought 4-1 victory, the second consecutive year they have beaten the Irish in the NCAA round of 16. Dasso returns to action in the NCAA singles tournament and pairs with Varnum in the NCAA doubles tournament that begin Monday following the conclusion of the team tournament.

#5 FLORIDA 4, #8 NOTRE DAME 1

Singles

No. 1: #7 Whitney Laiho (F) def. #3 Michelle Dasso (ND) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

No. 2: #85 Becky Varnum (ND) vs. #13 Jessica Lehnoff (F) 6-3, 2-6, 3-5, abandoned

No. 3: #46 Lindsay Dawaf (F) def. #91 Nina Vaughan (F) 6-3, 6-1

No. 4: Stephanie Hazlett (F) def. Caylan Leslie (ND) 6-3, 7-5

No. 5: Lindsey Green (ND) def. #81 Julia Scaringe (F) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

No. 6: Kimberly Guy (ND) vs. Annika Bengtsson (F) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 2-3, abandoned

Doubles

No. 1: #4 Laiho/Lehnoff (F) def. #7 Dasso/Varnum (ND) 8-6

No. 2: Hazlett/Scaringe (F) def. Katie Cunha/Guy (ND) 8-2

No. 3: Green/Vaughan (ND) vs. Bengtsson/Dawaf (F) 6-6, abandoned