Oct. 7, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Coming off its third 20-win season and third BIG EAST Conference title in the last four years and its sixth NCAA championship appearance since 1993, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team has established itself as a perennial top 20 program and the team to beat in the Midwest. With four starters returning and a number of talented and eager players waiting to fill the gaps, the Irish should once again be among the top teams in the country.
“On paper we aren’t as strong as we were last year, but I think because our depth was so good last year, 2000 is going to be another great year for us,” says 11th-year head coach and three-time BIG EAST coach of the year Jay Louderback. “We have a lot of good athletes on the team and when you have that, you have the chance to improve a lot more. We are hoping that they are going to have the chance to get a lot better during the fall schedule.”
Gone from the 1999 squad are four-year starters Jennifer Hall and Marisa Velasco, but the Irish welcome freshmen Katie Cunha and Michelle Hamilton to the team. Two-time All-American Michelle Dasso headlines a trio of returning players that also includes senior Kelly Zalinski and sophomore Becky Varnum. The three combined to win 102 singles matches and 76 doubles matches last year.
Dasso followed up a freshman season in 1998 in which she won a school-record 40 singles matches by earning both singles and doubles All-America honors in the same year as a sophomore in ’99. She quickly dispelled any notion of a sophomore jinx by spending much of last season ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles with a 23-4 record at No. 1 singles and 21-7 mark at No. 1 doubles.
“Michelle will start the year as one of the top 10 players in the country,” says Louderback. “There will be some pressure on her that she hasn’t had in the past, but she’s played so many big matches and has been so good under pressure that I don’t think it is going to bother her at all. We are looking to get a lot of leadership out of her now that she is a junior.”
She enters the year after spending her summer on the professional satellite tour as a member of the United States Tennis Association USA Tennis Collegiate Team with five other promising American college tennis players. Dasso reached the singles final at the Harrisonburg, Va., event and won the doubles at Springfield, Mo., with Hall.
“Michelle had a great summer,” says Louderback. “She played very well in satellite tournaments and that experience will help her a lot. It will be a big factor in her success this year.”
With Dasso set to anchor the Irish from the top spot, Varnum and Zalinski look to continue their success at higher spots in the lineup.
“Becky Varnum and Kelly Zalinski both are going to have to step up and play higher in the lineup,” says Louderback. “Becky has proven she can play with anyone after getting to the semifinals of the ITA Midwest singles last year. Kelly has a lot weapons and definitely has the ability to play higher.”
Varnum played a large role in Notre Dame’s success last year, leading the team in wins with 36 and winning 23 dual singles matches at No. 4 singles. She finished her first season without losing a set in her final 11 matches and had a 4-2 record against ranked opponents. Varnum was ranked as high as 40th in the country before a final ranking of 75. She begins her sophomore season ranked 57th.
“The higher Becky plays, the better she’ll play,” says Louderback. “She tends to play to the level of her opponents. She played really well against good opponents last year. As she plays the better players higher in the lineup, she is going to play better. She’s got a big game and controls matches with her forehand. Becky covers the court well and is starting to play a lot more aggressively, taking balls out of the air.”
Zalinski has been one of the steadiest players in Irish history as the only player to win at least 30 singles matches in each of her first three seasons at Notre Dame. She enters her final season at Notre Dame with 98 career singles wins, just 18 short of the record of 118 set just last year by Hall. Zalinski’s all-court game has helped develop her into one of the team’s top doubles players. She was ranked as high as 37th last year in doubles.
“Kelly has played four or five for us her whole career,” says Louderback. “She is a good athlete with big strokes and a lot of weapons. She’s worked really hard on her serve and it has become a weapon. This year we are looking for her to step up and play at least No. 3 singles. Early in the year it will be a little bit of an adjustment, having to play higher. The more she plays, the better she’ll get. We are counting on her to play a lot of doubles for us as well.”
After Dasso, Varnum and Zalinski, Louderback has the luxury of choosing from a number of talented players to round out the lineup. Senior Sarah Scaringe, junior Kim Guy, sophomores Lindsey Green and Nina Vaughan and Cunha all should battle for the remaining spots. Sophomore Berica Day and Hamilton also could contribute.
“We are going to have a battle for the four, five and six spots,” says Louderback. “Those five players will fight for those three spots at the start and we feel comfortable with any of those in the lineup.”
Scaringe has positioned herself to break into the lineup after playing a full schedule on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit. After recovery from a season-ending injury her sophomore year, she has gained the experience she needed to go with her talent. She had a 7-7 singles record and a 13-6 doubles mark last year.
“Sarah worked very hard last year on her quickness and groundstrokes to come back from her injury,” says Louderback. “She improved last year as much as any player I’ve seen improve. After missing that whole year Sarah needed to get a lot of match experience and she got it this past summer in playing a lot of tournaments. That will be a big factor in her having a spot to play in the singles lineup.”
Guy has played in and out of the lineup in her first two years and looks for a more permanent position as a junior. She has won five dual singles matches both years and has provided the Irish with clutch wins, including a pair of three-set wins in 5-4 Notre Dame victories against Northwestern and Wake Forest.
“Kim has a big game with a big service and volleys a lot,” says Louderback. “Athletically, she is as good as anyone we have. Her weakness in the past has been the experience of getting to play but she has picked up a lot in her first two years here. The more matches she plays, the tougher she plays, so playing a lot in the fall will really help her.”
Green’s presence at No. 6 singles made Notre Dame tough to beat last year at the bottom of the lineup. She put together a 27-6 doubles that marked the best single-season winning percentage of the decade for an Irish women’s tennis player. With a year of collegiate tennis experience, Green looks to become even more of an impact for Notre Dame.
“Lindsey has a big game and hits the ball hard off the forehand, backhand and serve,” says Louderback. “Last year she was thrown into almost every big match that came down to the end, either in singles or in doubles. Lindsey got a lot of experience last year playing big matches which is going to help her this year.”
Vaughan finished fourth on the team in singles wins and second in doubles wins during the fall of ’98 but was slowed in the spring by injury. She earned a national ranking in doubles after her fall season. Vaughan has recovered fully and is set to join the mix in competing for a spot in the lineup.
“Nina played better as the fall season progressed last year, but unfortunately she was forced to miss quite a bit of the spring,” says Louderback. “She plays a lot like Lindsey with her big game. Nina is not afraid to come to the net but needs to find a little more consistency on her groundstrokes.”
Cunha comes to Notre Dame after winning three consecutive state high school titles in Washington with a 55-match winning streak to end her career. She brings an athletic style of play to the court with her hard serve, solid net play and slice backhand.
“Katie is a very good athlete and will be fun to watch,” says Louderback. “She’s more of a serve and volleyer than we’ve had. Her serve is very big and she has great hands at the net. Katie needs to work on her consistency from the baseline. When she does that, she’s going to be hard to pull back.”
Day’s first year saw her implement improvements into the mechanics of her game. She played matches during the fall season and was set to work on her game during the summer but was slowed by injury.
“Once Berica gets back on the court, she’ll have a chance to get better,” says Louderback. “She is more comfortable with the changes in her game, so now it is just a matter of getting experience and playing as many matches as she can.”
Hamilton also needs to gain experience at the collegiate level before she makes a jump into competing on the team.
“Michelle was a solid junior in Southern California,” says Louderback. “She has good groundstrokes and can help us out in the future with our depth.”
Awaiting the Irish is a perennially-challenging schedule that includes an opening season trip to Hawaii with matches against Duke, Washington and Tennessee and later matches against Wake Forest, Pepperdine, William & Mary and Miami (Fla.)
“Our schedule, like always, is going to be tough,” says Louderback. “It will be good for us to play a lot of big matches early in Hawaii. We’ll be shooting to win the BIG EAST championship again and to be ready for the NCAA championships this year.”