Jan. 23, 2018
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team won its 15th consecutive dual season opener Tuesday, defeating Western Michigan 7-0 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
How It Happened
The Irish swept their way to the doubles point to take the early lead. Freshman Ally Bojczuk and junior Rachel Chong started things off with a 6-2 win over Denise Azcui and Jeryn Jack on Court 3, while freshman Cameron Corse and sophomore Zoe Spence clinched the point with a 6-2 win against Barbare Eristavi and Gabriela Slavova at No. 2. Seniors Brooke Broda and Allison Miller also won on Court 1, 6-3 over Melina Lyubomirova and Katja Fevralev.
Notre Dame rolled again in singles. Chong made swift work of Slavova at No. 6, winning 6-0, 6-1 to put the team up 2-0. Then freshman Carolina Dunleavy defeated Jack 6-3, 6-0 on Court 5 for her first collegiate win. Corse clinched the win for the Irish with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Fevralev at No. 4, also her first dual singles win.
Spence extended the lead with her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Azcui on Court 3. Miller followed with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Lyubomirova, and Broda completed the sweep with a 6-7, 6-1, 10-2 win over Eristavi on Court 1.
Coach Louderback’s Thoughts
On the performance of the freshmenââ’¬¦
“We had three freshmen playing their first match, and they needed to get that first match under their belts. I thought all three started nervous, but once they got going they were fine.”
On what stood out against WMUââ’¬¦
“I was really happy with our doubles. We had a couple games early when we were down a break and we did a good job of not panicking and staying in there. We’ve been working on the doubles a lot and Western is notably good in the doubles, so I thought that was a great start for us.”
On the relationship between the upper- and underclassmenââ’¬¦
“(The upperclassmen) have done a good job with (the freshmen). They’ve taken them under their wings. In practice, even though we’ve been set with doubles teams, we’ve switched them around a little (to give them a chance to play together) and I feel like it’s a very close group. The freshmen were close coming in, but I feel like the older ones have done a good job of blending in with them.”
Notes To Know
- The Irish are 18-4 in the series with Western Michigan, including 14-0 under head coach Jay Louderback.
- Freshmen Cameron Corse (singles, doubles), Caroline Dunleavy (singles) and Ally Bojczuk (doubles) made their first career starts in an Irish dual match.
- Corse, Dunleavy and Bojczuk each went undefeated in their debuts.
- The Irish have opened the dual season against Western Michigan in each of the last five seasons (2014-present).
- Notre Dame has won its dual season opener in each of the past 15 seasons dating to the 2004 season (4-3 loss to Michigan on Jan. 29, 2004).
Box Score
Notre Dame 7, Western Michigan 0
Jan. 23, 2018
Eck Tennis Pavilion
Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Barbare Eristavi (WMU) 6-7, 6-1, 10-2
2. Allison Miller (ND) def. Melina Lyubomirova (WMU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Zoe Spence (ND) def. Denise Azcui (WMU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Cameron Corse (ND) def. Katja Fevralev (WMU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Caroline Dunleavy (ND) def. Jeryn Jack (WMU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Rachel Chong (ND) def. Gabriela Slavova (WMU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Brooke Broda / Allison Miller (ND) def. Melina Lyubomirova / Katja Fevralev (WMU) 6-3
2. Cameron Corse / Zoe Spence (ND) def. Barbare EristavI / Gabriela Slavova (WMU) 6-2
3. Ally Bojczuk / Rachel Chong (ND) def. Denise Azcui / Jeryn Jack (WMU) 6-3
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.