Nov. 8, 2015
By Joanne Norell
URBANA, Ill. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team put together its second-straight dominating singles performance Sunday to wrap up play at the Illinois Midwest Blast at the Atkins Tennis Center at the University of Illinois.
The Irish went 5-1 in a dual-style match-up with Missouri, matching their performance from Saturday in which they defeated Purdue 5-1. In total, Notre Dame went 13-5 in singles play on the weekend, and 3-6 in doubles.
Senior and 93rd-ranked Quinn Gleason defeated Brittany Lashway in straight sets Sunday, 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 1 slot, while junior Mary Closs upended Cassidy Spearman 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. Sophomore Brooke Broda beat Clare Raley on Court 4, 6-2, 6-4, freshman Rachel Chong battled back to dispatch Brianna Lashway 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Court 5, and junior Jane Fennelly rounded out the Irish day with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Turner Yates on Court 6.
Gleason and Broda were a perfect 3-0 in singles on the weekend, while Gleason also went 2-1 in doubles play. Closs and Chong went 2-1 in singles play, and Fennelly was 2-0.
The Irish will close out the fall tournament season next weekend when they head to the Lakewood Ranch Invitational, held November 13-15 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Illinois Midwest Blast
Nov. 6-8, 2015
Atkins Tennis Center
Urbana, Illinois
All Times ET
Friday
Doubles
Purdue 2, Notre Dame 1
1. Krisztina Kapitany / Deborah Suarez (PU) def. Quinn Gleason / Brooke Broda (ND), 8-3
2. Andjela Djokovic / Nicole Robinson (PU) def. Mary Closs / Julie Vrabel (ND), 8-4
3. Jane Fennelly / Allison Miller (ND) def. Claudia Escribens / Natalia Davila (PU), 8-6
Notre Dame 2, Missouri 1
1. Quinn Gleason / Mary Closs (ND) def. Brianna Lashway / Cassidy Spearman (MIZZ), 8-1
2. Bea Machado Santos / Clare Raley (MIZZ) def. Brooke Broda / Allison Miller (ND), 8-3
3. Rachel Chong / Julie Vrabel (ND) def. Brittany Lashway / Turner Yates (MIZZ), 8-4
Singles
Notre Dame 3, Illinois 3
1. No. 93 Quinn Gleason (ND) def. Alexis Casati (UI), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
2. Louise Kwong (UI) def. Allison Miller (ND), 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-4
3. Jerricka Boone (UI) def. Mary Closs (ND), 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
4. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Ines Vias (UI), 0-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Daniela Pedraza-Novak (UI) def. Rachel Chong (ND), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Jane Fennelly (ND) def. Jade Hilton (UI), 7-6(4), 7-5
Saturday
Singles
Notre Dame 5, Purdue 1
1. No. 93 Quinn Gleason (ND) def. Krisztina Kapitany (PU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Andjela Djokovic (PU) def. Allison Miller (ND), 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3
3. Mary Closs (ND) def. Deborah Suarez (PU), 6-1, 6-3
4. Julie Vrabel (ND) def. Nicole Robinson (PU), 7-5, 6-4
5. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Claudia Escribens (PU), 7-6(2), 7-5
6. Rachel Chong (ND) def. Marta Ruedas-Borgos (PU), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
Illinois 3, Notre Dame 0
1. Louise Kwong / Ines Vias (UI) def. Mary Closs / Quinn Gleason (ND), 8-5
2. Jerricka Boone / Alexis Casati (UI) def. Brooke Broda / Allison Miller (ND), 8-5
3. Emily Barretta / Jaclyn Switkes (UI) def. Rachel Chong / Julie Vrabel (ND), 8-4
Sunday
Singles
Notre Dame 5, Missouri 1
1. No. 93 Quinn Gleason (ND) def. Brittany Lashway (Mizzou), 6-2, 6-0
2. Bea Machado Santos (Mizzou) def. Allison Miller (ND), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(10)
3. Mary Closs (ND) def. Cassidy Spearman (Mizzou), 6-2, 6-2
4. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Clare Raley (Mizzou), 6-2, 6-4
5. Rachel Chong (ND) de. Brianna Lashway (Mizzou), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Jane Fennelly (ND) def. Turner Yates (Mizzou), 6-4, 6-3
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To keep up with all things Irish women’s tennis, be sure to follow @NDWomensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Women’s Tennis on Facebook.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant 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 women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.