May 3, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The eighth-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team has been selected as a host for NCAA first- and second-round matches at the Courtney Tennis Center and will play Eastern Michigan in the first round at 2:00 p.m. EST (CDT) on Sat., May 12. The Irish, seeded 13th in the draw with a 23-4 record, will be making their sixth straight and eighth overall appearance in the NCAA championship after earning an automatic bid by winning their fourth BIG EAST championship. Sixteenth-ranked Texas A&M and 51st-ranked Tulane will meet in the first match at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, with the second-round match at noon on Sunday.
Irish All-American and senior captain Michelle Dasso has earned a spot in her fourth NCAA singles tournament. Ranked third in the country in singles, she enters the NCAA championship with a 35-8 record and 20-3 mark at No. 1 singles. The seventh-ranked doubles team of Dasso and junior Becky Varnum will be making their second consecutive NCAA doubles appearance. The pair sports a 32-7 record and a 22-2 mark at No. 1 doubles, including a 19-match winning streak.
Eastern Michigan won their second Mid-America Conference title in the last four years to earn an automatic bid into their first NCAA championship. The Eagles enter the match with a 16-6 record and will play Notre Dame for the first time since the Irish won 8-1 at Eastern Michigan in 1990 — head coach Jay Louderback’s first year at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame holds a 2-1 record vs. Texas A&M, and the teams last met in 1993 — a 9-0 Irish win at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Tulane will be making its first visit to Notre Dame and won the only meeting between the teams, a 7-2 win in 1982.