Feb. 10, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 13th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team is set to play host to three matches this weekend. The Irish will open against Michigan at 4:00 p.m. (ET) Thursday before tussling with Vanderbilt at 11:00 a.m. Saturday and Wisconsin at 11:00 a.m. Sunday. All matches will be held in the Eck Tennis Pavilion and admission is free of charge.
Notre Dame enters the weekend’s matches with a record of 3-2 on the dual season, including most recently defeating Wake Forest by a score of 6-1. Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio), ranked ninth in the nation in singles, anchors the Irish with a 5-0 record at No.1 singles, but is followed closely by 106th-ranked Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) at No. 2 singles with an identical 5-0 record.
The Irish enjoy a 21-9 all-time ledger against the Wolverines, including going 19-4 under head coach Jay Louderback’s direction. Overall, Notre Dame has captured eight of the last 10 matches, including a current string of three consecutive dating back to ’08.
Notre Dame and Vanderbilt have met 11 times overall, with the Irish trailing in the series 7-4. The Irish, however, have won each of the past two meetings against the Commodores – 5-2 in ’09 and 4-3 in ’10.
Sunday’s matchup against Wisconsin will mark the 25th meeting between the two schools, with Notre Dame holding a 17-7 advantage. The Irish are currently on a four-match winning streak against the Badgers and have dropped only one point (out of a possible 28) in those four contests.
Michigan enters Thursday’s matchup with a perfect 4-0 record, including notching a victory over 17th-ranked USC, 5-2, to qualify for the ITA Team Indoor Championships. They are led by Denise Muresan, who currently ranks 11th in singles, and the doubles team of Mimi Nguyen and Brooke Bolender, who rank 12th in the doubles poll.
Alex Leatu (No. 50) leads 3-1 Vanderbilt into town after the squad most recently posted a 7-0 sweep over Princeton. The Commodores are currently ranked 18th in the nation.
Wisconsin brings a 4-1 record with them for Sunday’s match, including most recently knocking off Illinois-Chicago 6-1. In the team’s four wins, they have dropped only two points, posting wins of 6-1, 7-0, 7-0 and 6-1. The lone loss came in a 4-3 decision against Williams & Mary.
For full recaps of each of the weekend’s matches be sure to check back with und.com and for live stats be sure to click on the respective link below.
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