February 19, 1999
MADISON, Wis. – The 16th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team lost a 4-2 lead and three team match points as eighth-ranked UCLA rallied to hand the Irish their third consecutive defeat 5-4 on the second day of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships at Wisconsin’s Nielsen Tennis Center. The loss drops Notre Dame to 5-4 while UCLA improves to 6-3.
The Bruins used a win at No. 6 singles and wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to rally for the win. Notre Dame will look to avoid its longest losing streak in 11 years in its final match of the tournament against 13th-ranked USC on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
Notre Dame went up 2-0 when seniors Jennifer Hall and Marisa Velasco won in straight sets. Hall, ranked 93rd, became the first Notre Dame player under Jay Louderback to win 100 career singles matches as she beat 31st-ranked Annica Cooper 7-5, 6-3. Velasco downed 38th-ranked Amanda Basica 6-2, 6-2. Cristina Popescu beat Michelle Dasso 7-5, 6-1 to put the Bruins within 2-1.
Irish freshman Becky Varnum beat Brandi Freudenberg 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 4 singles, while Katia Roubanova gave UCLA its second with a 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 win over Kelly Zalinski at No. 5 singles.
Dasso and Hall beat the eighth-ranked team of Basica and Cooper 8-2 at No. 1 doubles to put the Irish ahead 4-2 while No. 6 singles was still being played. UCLA’s Petya Marinova won a close 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6) match at No. 6 over Irish freshman Lindsey Green. Marinova saved three match points to keep the Bruins alive.
Freudenberg and Roubanova beat Varnum and Velasco 8-5 at No. 2 doubles to tie the match at 4-4. Marinova then teamed with Popescu to beat Green and Sarah Scaringe 8-4 at No. 3 doubles to clinch the match for UCLA.
All four of Notre Dame’s losses have come against higher ranked teams. The first Irish loss came against 15th-ranked Pepperdine by a 5-4 score after Notre Dame had won four of the six singles matches on Jan. 23. Second-ranked Duke beat the Irish 6-3 on Sunday, while top-ranked Florida won 7-2 on Thursday in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
#8 UCLA 5, #16 NOTRE DAME 4
SinglesNo. 1 #13 Cristina Popescu (UCLA) def. #10 Michelle Dasso (ND) 7-5, 6-1No. 2 #93 Jennifer Hall (ND) def. #31 Annica Cooper (UCLA) 7-5, 6-3No. 3 Marisa Velasco (ND) def. #38 Amanda Basica (UCLA) 6-2, 6-2No. 4 #40 Becky Varnum (ND) def. Brandi Freudenberg (UCLA) 6-0, 7-6 (5)No. 5 Katia Roubanova (UCLA) def. Kelly Zalinski (ND) 7-6 (8), 6-4No. 6 Petya Marinova (UCLA) def. Lindsey Green (ND) 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6)
DoublesNo. 1 #22 Dasso/Hall (ND) def. #8 Basica/Cooper (UCLA) 8-2No. 2 Freudenberg/Roubanova (UCLA) def. Varnum/Velasco (ND) 8-5No. 3 Marinova/Popescu (UCLA) def. Green/Sarah Scaringe (ND) 8-4