March 3, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 17th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team saw its six-match homestand come to a close with a 6-1 loss to No. 3 Duke Saturday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish conclude the stretch with a record of 4-2 and now sit at 9-4 overall.
For the fourth consecutive contest, Notre Dame staked claim to an early 1-0 advantage after winning doubles. Second-ranked Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) posted their fourth straight win, downing #21 Beatrice Capra and Rachel Kahan at No. 1, 8-4.
Duke then tied the doubles contest at one apiece as junior Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) saw their four-match winning streak come to a close to Hanna Mar and Annie Mulholland at No. 3 doubles, 8-6. Sophomores Britney Sanders (Ontario, Calif.) and Julie Sabacinski (Plantation, Fla.) responded for the Irish, clinching the opening point at No. 2 after defeating 54th-ranked Mary Clayton and Ester Goldfeld, 8-5.
The Irish could not continue the momentum in singles, however, as Duke captured each of the six courts with five of the contests being decided in straight sets. Sabacinski fell to 3-3 in dual contests, dropping a 6-1, 6-2 match to #65 Monica Turewicz at No. 6 singles. The Blue Devils (10-1) then took their first advantage of the match as McGaffigan fell to #68 Clayton at No. 5, 6-3, 6-2.
The remaining three straight-set matches saw Kellner fall to #108 Goldfeld at No. 3 (6-4, 6-4), #73 Frilling lose to #45 Mar at No. 2 (6-4, 6-2) and #52 Mathews fall to #2 Capra at No. 1 (7-6 (7-4), 6-2). Sanders looked to claim the first singles point of the match for the Irish at No. 4 singles, but after claiming the first set 6-3 she dropped the remaining two sets (7-5, 1-0 (10-7)) as Duke claimed the singles sweep and the 6-1 outcome.
Notre Dame now gears up to hit the road for its spring break trip in Hawaii. The team will play in three matches on the island, taking on Texas Tech (March 12), Hawaii (March 14) and SMU (March 15) before returning back to the mainland.
Duke vs Notre DameMar 03, 2012 at Notre Dame, Ind. (Eck Tennis Pavilion)#3 Duke 6, #17 Notre Dame 1
Singles Competition1. #2 Beatrice Capra (DUKE) def. #52 Shannon Mathews (ND) 7-6 (7-4), 6-22. #45 Hanna Mar (DUKE) def. #73 Kristy Frilling (ND) 6-4, 6-23. #108 Ester Goldfeld (DUKE) def. Jennifer Kellner (ND) 6-4, 6-44. Rachel Kahan (DUKE) def. #102 Britney Sanders (ND) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)5. #68 Mary Clayton (DUKE) def. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) 6-3, 6-26. #65 Monica Turewicz (DUKE) def. Julie Sabacinski (ND) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Competition1. #2 Shannon Mathews/Kristy Frilling (ND) def. #21 Beatrice Capra/Rachel Kahan (DUKE) 8-42. Britney Sanders/Julie Sabacinski (ND) def. #54 Mary Clayton/Ester Goldfeld (DUKE) 8-53. Hanna Mar/Annie Mulholland (DUKE) def. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) 8-6
Match Notes:Duke 10-1; National ranking #3Notre Dame 9-4; National ranking #17Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,5,3,2,1,4)A-215