Jan. 29, 2012
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The 21st-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team returned to its winning ways on Sunday, claiming a 7-0 victory over Maryland in a consolation matchup at the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Varsity Tennis Center. Freshman Katherine White (Columbus, Ga.) clinched her first career match with her singles victory.
The Irish started strong in doubles action, claiming both the No. 2 and No. 3 courts to earn the early 1-0 advantage. Britney Sanders (Ontario, Calif.) and White secured the first match of the day, taking down Jordan Hansbrough and Vroni Van Berlo of Maryland at No. 2 doubles, 8-5. The 25th-ranked Irish pairing held a 5-4 lead in the contest before rattling off three consecutive games to close out the match.
Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Chrissie McGaffigan clinched the opening point shortly thereafter, defeating Cristina Stancu and Mikele Irazustu at No. 3, 8-6. The two teams exchanged holding serve until 6-6 of the set before Kellner and McGaffigan earned a crucial break and proceeded to hold serve to close out the doubles point. In the final match, seniors Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews, ranked fifth nationally, fell to the 37th-ranked Maryland duo of Ana Belzunce and Welma Luus at No. 1, 8-6.
Kellner and Sanders then made quick work of their singles matches, pushing the margin to 3-0 with straight-sets victories at No. 3 and 4 singles, respectively. Kellner dropped only one game en route to defeating Luus (6-1, 6-0), while Sanders posted a perfect opening set (6-0) before taking the second set 6-3. On the season, Kellner now holds a perfect 4-0 record in dual matches and Sanders sports a 5-0 record.
White, playing at the No. 6 position, clinched the victory for the Irish after posting a 6-2, 6-4 decision over Irazustu. The Irish freshman improved her dual record to 3-1 in split time between No. 4 and 6 singles. McGaffigan nearly earned the clincher, finishing off her match just after White, 6-2, 7-5, against Van Berlo at No. 5 singles.
The Irish closed out the sweep at the top two courts as Mathews, in just her third career match at the No. 1 court, took down 26th-ranked Stancu (6-2, 6-4) just before Frilling, appearing at No. 2 singles, won in a three-set affair (4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (1-0 (10-4)) over Belzunce.
With the victory, the Irish improve to 4-1 on the season. The team returns to action next Friday and Sunday (Feb. 3 and 5) when they hit the road for matchups against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, respectively.
#21 Notre Dame 7, #40 Maryland 0Jan. 29, 2012Varsity Tennis Center
Singles:1. Shannon Mathews (ND) def. #26 Cristina Stancu (MD) 6-2, 6-42. Kristy Frilling (ND) def. Ana Belzunce (MD) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4)3. Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. Welma Luus (MD) 6-1, 6-04. Britney Sanders (ND) def. Jordan Hansbrough (MD) 6-0, 6-35. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Vroni Van Berlo (MD) 6-2, 7-56. Katherine White (ND) def. Mikele Irazustu (MD) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles:1. #37 Ana Belzunce/Welma Luus (MD) def. #5 Kristy Frilling/Shannon Mathews (ND) 8-62. #25 Katherine White/Britney Sanders (ND) def. Jordan Hansbrough/Vroni Van Berlo (MD) 8-43. Chrissie McGaffigan/Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. Cristina Stancu/Mikele Irazustu (MD) 8-6
Match Notes:Maryland 1-2; National ranking #40Notre Dame 4-1; National ranking #21Order of Completion: Doubles (2,3,1) ; Singles (3,4,6,5,1,2)
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