Feb. 13, 2009
MADISON, Wisc. – The 14th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team used a huge comeback to knock off the fifth-ranked Stanford Cardinal, 4-3, in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Friday.
Stanford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after clinching the doubles point. No. 1 Kristy Frilling and Kelcy Tefft got the only Irish doubles win, as they defeated Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette, 8-4. Carolyn McVeigh and Jessica Nguyen downed Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik, 8-3, while Logan Hansen and Jennifer Yen defeated Shannon Mathews and Colleen Rielley, 9-8, to clinch the point for the Cardinal.
Ciobanu evened the score at 1-1 when she took down Veronica Li, 6-0, 6-2. Stanford pushed their lead to 3-2, as No. 97 Burdette knocked off No. 46 Krisik, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, and No. 26 Barte defeated No. 45 Tefft, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Frilling, the 39th-ranked singles player, pulled the Irish within one when she downed Nguyen, 7-5, 6-3. Shannon Mathews tied the match at 3-3 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Yen. No. 62 Kristen Rafael gave the Irish the win as she defeated McVeigh, 7-5, 6-1.
The Irish advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship quarterfinals and improve to 5-0 on the season.
Notre Dame will take on either No. 4 Baylor or No. 11 North Carolina Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST).
No. 14 Notre Dame 4 No. 5 Stanford 3
Doubles Results
1. No. 1 Tefft/Frilling (ND) def. Barte/Burdette (Stanford), 8-4
2. McVeigh/Nguyen (Stanford) def. Ciobanu/Krisik (ND), 8-3
3. Hansen/Yen (Stanford) def. Mathews/Rielley (ND), 9-8 (4)*
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles Results
1. No. 26 Hilary Barte (Stanford) def. No. 45 Kelcy Tefft (ND), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 39 Kristy Frilling (ND) def. Jessica Nguyen (Stanford), 7-5, 6-3
3. No. 97 Lindsay Burdette (Stanford) def. No. 46 Kali Krisik (ND), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
4. No. 62 Kristen Rafael (ND) def. Carolyn McVeigh (Stanford), 7-5, 6-1*
5. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Veronica Li (Stanford), 6-0, 6-2
6. Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Jennifer Yen (Stanford), 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 6, 4
–ND–