March 18, 2018
By Michael Scholl
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – The Notre Dame tennis team capped its first full weekend of ACC play with a split, falling to No. 26 Virginia, 6-1, two days after downing No. 36 Virginia Tech, 5-2.
Zoe Spence was a winner in singles action for the Irish, while Rachel Chong & Bess Waldram won in doubles action. The defeat drops Notre Dame to 10-4 on the year and 2-2 in ACC play, while Virginia improved to 9-4 and 4-2 in the league.
How it Happened
Doubles
The first two doubles matches to conclude ended within moments of each other. Virginia’s Meghan Kelly & Rosei Johanson won, 6-2, on court one over Brooke Broda & Allison Miller, before the Irish evened things up when Rachel Chong & Bess Waldram won by an identical score over Teodora Radosavijevic & Erica Susi.
All eyes turned to court three, where Cassie Merce & Chloe Gullickson edged the Irish duo of Cameron Corse & Zoe Spence, 6-4, to give the Cavaliers the doubles point.
Singles
Virginia wasted no time clinching the match in singles. Cassie Mercer picked-up a straight set win over Allison Miller (6-2, 6-1) on two, Meghan Kelley won in straight sets over Cameron Corse on court three (6-1, 6-3) and the clincher came on court five where Teodora Radosavijevic won, 6-3, 6-0, over Rachel Chong. The Cavaliers made it 5-0 when Rosie Johanson won at court one, 7-5, 6-2, over Brooke Broda.
The final two singles matches were both battles. On court six, Hunter Blesser and Ally Bojczuk went to a tiebreak after splitting the first two sets, 6-2, 5-7, before Blesser won 11-9 in the tiebreaker. Bojczuk battled back from down 5-1 to take the second set and get it to a tiebreak. On court four, Zoe Spence rallied after dropping the first set, 4-6, before taking the second, 7-5, and the tiebreaker, 10-5.
Coach Louderback’s Thoughts
On the weekendââ’¬¦
“We needed to for sure win one of the two (matches versus Virginia Tech and Virginia). We’d have liked to get two, but we played well. Our doubles, even though we lost doubles today, we’ve gotten a lot better as the year has gone on and I feel a lot more confident in our doubles now. Virginia is a very good team and they showed it today. They have big hitters all the way around and with it being indoors, they did a really good job of controlling the match.”
On Ally Bojczukââ’¬¦
“Ally was down 5-1 and kept plugging away. She got the split and had a chance in the tiebreaker. (UVA’s Hunter) Blesser played well and had a big forehand. Ally ran a lot of balls down and when she had a chance, she just kept playing. That was one of those matches that Ally didn’t have a lot of control because the kid was hitting so big, but she stretched it out and gave herself a chance to win.
On Zoe Spenceââ’¬¦
“She did a good job. She had a controversial first set and lost it, but just kept playing. She served really well today. She’s been working a lot on her serve and she controlled a lot of the points with her serve.
On traveling to Duke and Wake Forest next weekââ’¬¦
“It’s a quick week. We take tomorrow off, practice Tuesday and Wednesday and fly out Wednesday. Our big thing is we need a chance to get down there and get outdoors (to practice) Thursday. There’s a good chance we’ll be outside, which we’re hoping for. We played well in Florida (outdoors). We just had three days outdoors and played very good matches. Usually the first time outside we struggle, but it didn’t bother us at all. We’re looking forward to being down there and hoping we get to be outdoors.”
Match Notes
- Spence improved to 10-3 in singles action in the dual season, including a 6-0 mark at four singles.
- Chong and Waldram are 7-1 as doubles partners, all victories at three doubles.
- Bojczuk suffered her first singles setback of the spring and just her second of the 2017-18 campaign. She now stands 16-2 on the year, 9-1 on the spring and 8-1 at six singles.
- Virginia leads the all-time series with the Irish 1-5.
Scoreboard
No. 26 Virginia 5, Notre Dame 1
Mar 18, 2018 at Eck Tennis Pavilion (Notre Dame, IN)
Singles
1. Rosie Johanson (VA) def. Brooke Broda (ND) 7-5, 6-2
2. Cassie Mercer (VA) def. Allison Miller (ND) 6-2, 6-1
3. Meghan Kelley (VA) def. Cameron Corse (ND) 6-1, 6-3
4. Zoe Spence (ND) def. Chloe Gullickson (VA) 4-6, 7-5, 10-5
5. T. Radosavljevic (VA) def. Rachel Chong (ND) 6-3, 6-0
6. Hunter Bleser (VA) def. Ally Bojczuk (ND) 6-2, 5-7, 11-9
Doubles
1. Meghan Kelley/Rosie Johanson (VA) def. Brooke Broda/Allison Miller (ND) 6-2
2. Cassie Mercer/Chloe Gullickson (VA) def. Cameron Corse/Zoe Spence (ND) 6-4
3. Rachel Chong/Bess Waldram (ND) def. T. Radosavljevic/Erica Susi (VA) 6-2
Order of Finish
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,5,1,6,4)
Up Next
Notre Dame embarks on a four-match road swing, with trips to Duke and Wake Forest next weekend. The Irish visit the Blue Devils on Friday, March 23, at 4 p.m., before taking on the Demon Deacons on Sunday, March 25, at Noon.
— 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.