Feb. 8, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 11th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team returns to action as it plays three matches in three days this weekend. The Irish welcome 61st-ranked Virginia Tech, eighth-ranked Wake Forest and 28th-ranked North Carolina to the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 2-1 record following wins on Sunday over Illinois State and Western Michigan.
Notre Dame is led by senior All-American and third-ranked Michelle Dasso, who is coming off a semifinal singles appearance last weekend at the Rolex National Intercollegiate Championships — the third leg of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association grand slam. She and junior Becky Varnum also reached the semifinals of the doubles. Dasso enters the weekend with a career record of 73-12 in dual singles matches at mostly No. 1 singles. Varnum, senior Kimberly Guy, juniors Nina Vaughan and Lindsey Green, sophomore Katie Cunha and freshman Caylan Leslie also round out the Irish dual-match lineup.
The Irish kick off the weekend at 4:00 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 9, when they face Virginia Tech for the first time. The Hokies enter the match after defeating East Tennessee State 7-0 on Wednesday in their season opener. Virginia Tech was scheduled to play a road match at Western Michigan before traveling to Notre Dame.
Notre Dame will take on its second top-10 opponent of the season when it faces Wake Forest at 9:00 a.m. on Sat., Feb. 10. The Irish have a 4-7 record versus the Demon Deacons and have won two of the last three meetings between the teams. Wake Forest currently boasts the top-ranked singles player and doubles team in the country. Sophomore Bea Bielik stands first in singles and first in doubles with junior Janet Bergman — currently ranked sixth in singles. Maren Haus is ranked 56th in singles and 36th in doubles with Aimee Smith.
The weekend concludes for the Irish when they meet the Tar Heels at 1:00 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 11. Notre Dame owns a 3-1 advantage over North Carolina, including a 5-4 road win last year. The Tar Heels will be making their first trip to Notre Dame since 1992 and are led by 11th-ranked sophomore Marlene Mejia, 29th-ranked freshman Julie Rotondi and 54th-ranked sophomore Kendrick Bunn. Bunn and Kate Pinchbeck are ranked 25th in doubles.