April 20, 2018
By Michael Scholl
NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 18 Florida State in its penultimate regular season match on Friday afternoon at the Courtney Tennis Center.
The Irish (11-13, 2-11 ACC) were playing outdoors at home for the first time this season, with Ally Bojczuk scoring the lone point for the Irish against the Seminoles (17-7, 8-5 ACC).
How It Happened
Doubles
The Irish were putting up a battle on court two, but it was victories at one and three which clinched things for the Seminoles. Court one was first to finish, where FSU’s Carla Touly and Anna Rahmanparast defeated Brooke Broda and Zoe Spence, 6-1. On three, it was Gabriella Castaneda and Petra Hule winning by the same margin to clinch the point. Notre Dame’s Ally Bojczuk and Allison Miller held a 3-2 lead on court two when play was suspended.
Singles
The visitors quickly moved within one point of clinching the match at one and two singles. First, Petra Hule defeated Brooke Broda (6-2, 6-1) on two before Carla Touly took down Allison Miller (6-0, 6-2) at court one.
The Irish got on the scoreboard to cut the deficit to 3-1 when Ally Bojczuk took a straight-set win over Julia Mikulski on court four, 6-3, 6-1. Florida State then clinched the match thanks to a 6-2, 6-4 victory by Andrea Garcia over Caroline Dunleavy on court six.
The remaining two matches were played out. On court three, FSU’s Dandini Das won a super tiebreaker, 10-6, after splitting the first two sets with Zoe Spence (1-6, 6-2). The final match to finish was at five, with the Seminoles’ Ariana Rahmanparast defeating Rachel Chong (7-5, 6-2).
Head Coach Jay Louderback’s Thoughts
On the match…
“Zoe Spence, Rachel Chong andAlly Bojczuk all played really well. We were in all three matches. Rachel was up 5-4 in the first and ended up losing a tight one, 7-5. Zoe did a great job and lost a tiebreak. I felt like we played like we have all year, we played close. We battled it hard.”
On playing outdoors at home for the first time this season…
“It’s really not been bad. They’ve (FSU) probably been outside more than us, but a lot of people haven’t been out because the weather’s been so bad. We played IUPUI outdoors on Wednesday and hit outdoors yesterday. All year, going from indoors to outdoors, hasn’t been that bad. We’ve handled it really well.”
Scoreboard
#18 Florida State 6, Notre Dame 1
Apr 20, 2018 at Notre Dame, IN (Courtney Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #18 Carla Touly (FSU) def. Allison Miller (ND) 6-0, 6-2
2. #92 Petra Hule (FSU) def. Brooke Broda (ND) 6-2, 6-1
3. Nandini Das (FSU) def. Zoe Spence (ND) 1-6, 6-2, 10-6
4. Ally Bojczuk (ND) def. Julia Mikulski (FSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) def. Rachel Chong (ND) 7-5, 6-2
6. Andrea Garcia (FSU) def. Caroline Dunleavy (ND) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. #73 Carla Touly/Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) def. Brooke Broda/Zoe Spence (ND) 6-1
2. Ally Bojczuk/Allison Miller (ND) vs. Julia Mikulski/Andrea Garcia (FSU) 3-2, unfinished
3. Gabriella Castaneda/Petra Hule (FSU) def. Rachel Chong/Caroline Dunleavy (ND) 6-1
Order of Finish
Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,1,4,6,3,5)
Up Next
The Irish will complete their 2017-18 regular season on Sunday, April 22, when No. 17 Miami visits the Courtney Tennis Center for a Noon showdown. Live results will be available at UND.com.
— ND —
Michael Scholl has been a member of the Fighting Irish Media communications staff at his alma mater since August 2016. He serves as the secondary contact for the Irish football and hockey teams while coordinating communications efforts for the women’s tennis program. Scholl has previously worked in communications at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Providence College, Vanderbilt University and the University of Cincinnati. The South Bend, Indiana, native earned a degree in political science from the College of Arts and Letters in 2009.