Nov. 3, 2011
FLUSHING, N.Y. – Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) and Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio), seniors on the University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team, advanced into the quarterfinals of the ITA National Individual Indoor Championships on Thursday at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Frilling also competed in singles action, falling in her round-of-32 matchup.
The Irish duo, which advanced to the National Indoor as the automatic qualifiers out of the Midwest Regional, played an efficient match in their opener against Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson and Lilly Kimbell. Mathews and Frilling claimed six of the first seven games in the matchup to jump out to a quick 6-1 advantage. From there, the fifth-ranked Irish pairing claimed two of the next three games to put away the Bulldog opposition, 8-2.
With the victory, Mathews and Frilling move on to face Duke’s tandem of Beatrice Capra and Ester Goldfeld on Friday, who advanced with a 9-7 win over Oklahoma’s Marie-Pier Huet and Whitney Ritchie. Should the Irish advance past Duke, the semifinals of the doubles draw are also scheduled to take place later in the day.
While Notre Dame’s team advanced in doubles action, singles play would not go as well. Frilling, who earned a bid into the draw as an at-large selection, faced off against Zoe Scandalis of USC in the first round. After dropping the first set 6-4, Frilling traded games with Scandalis to 3-3 of the second set. Scandalis, however, would go on to reel off the next three games to close out Frilling, 6-4, 6-3.
In addition to Mathews and Frilling being in action tomorrow, the remainder of the Irish roster gets its weekend underway at the Eck Tennis Classic. Notre Dame will play host to round-robin play against members of the teams from Wake Forest, Oklahoma and Mississippi State. Be sure to continue to check back with und.com for complete recaps of the Irish from both events.
ITA National Individual Indoor Championship
Main Doubles Draw:Round of 16:#5 Kristy Frilling / Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Chelsey Gullickson / Lilly Kimbell (UGA) 8-2
Main Singles Draw:Round of 32:Zoe Scandalis (USC) def. #3 Kristy Frilling (ND) 6-4, 6-3
–ND–