SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team split a pair of matches against Big Ten Conference opponents over the weekend. The Fighting Irish knocked off Penn State 4-1 Friday night before dropping its contest Sunday to the Wisconsin Badgers, 5-2. The Irish are now 8-2 after this weekend’s matches and were receiving votes in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll.
Against the Nittany Lions, the Irish started the match by taking the doubles point. The tandem of Julia Andreach and Carrie Beckman earned a 6-2 victory at No. 2, before Page Freeman and Bojana Pozder took the doubles point with a 6-3 win at No.1.
Singles action saw Freeman earned a win over Sofiya Chekhlystova, ranked 50th in the nation, 6-4, 7-6 (7). After the Irish dropped the fifth flight, Andreach and Yashna Yellayi earned straight set victories at flights two and three to earn the win.
Sunday afternoon saw the Irish storm out of the gate, taking the doubles point. Beckman and Andreach teamed for a 6-4 win at No. 2, before Yellayi and Rylie Hanford teamed up for a 7-5 victory at No. 3 to earn the point.
Singles action decided the match, with the Badgers taking four of the six flights. Akari Matsuno evened the match with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 6, but Wisconsin would win the next three matches in straight sets. Freeman and Andreach forced third sets in their matches, but ultimately fell, leading to the 5-2 loss.
Penn State
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4, Penn State 1
Singles competition
- #91 Page Freeman (ND-W) def. #50 Sofiya Chekhlystova (PSU) 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
- Julia Andreach (ND-W) def. Yvonne Zuffova (PSU) 6-4, 7-5
- #115 Yashna Yellayi (ND-W) def. Ioana Gheorghita (PSU) 6-3, 6-3
- Bojana Pozder (ND-W) vs. Carla Girbau (PSU) unfinished
- Olivia Dorner (PSU) def. Carrie Beckman (ND-W) 6-4, 6-4
- Akari Matsuno (ND-W) vs. Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) unfinished
Doubles competition
- Page Freeman/Bojana Pozder (ND-W) def. Sofiya Chekhlystova/Carla Girbau (PSU) 6-3
- Julia Andreach/Carrie Beckman (ND-W) def. Ioana Gheorghita/Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) 6-2 3. Yashna Yellayi/Rylie Hanford (ND-W) vs. Karly Friedland/Olivia Dorner (PSU) unfinished
#22 Wisconsin
#22 Wisconsin 5, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2
Singles competition
- #57 Ava Markham (WIS) def. #91 Page Freeman (ND-W) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
- #87 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. Julia Andreach (ND-W) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Alina Mukhortova (WIS) def. #115 Yashna Yellayi (ND-W) 6-3, 6-3
- Taylor Cataldi (WIS) def. Bojana Pozder (ND-W) 7-6, 7-5
- #100 Xinyu Cai (WIS) def. Nibi Ghosh (ND-W) 6-1, 6-4
- Akari Matsuno (ND-W) def. Charmaine Seah (WIS) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles competition
- Page Freeman/Bojana Pozder (ND-W) vs. #60 Ava Markham/Maria Sholokhova (WIS) 6-6, unfinished
- Carrie Beckman/Julia Andreach (ND-W) def. Alina Mukhortova/Xinyu Cai (WIS) 6-4
- Yashna Yellayi/Rylie Hanford (ND-W) def. Charmaine Seah/Taylor Cataldi (WIS) 7-5