March 3, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 18th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to second-ranked Duke on Sunday afternoon (March 3) at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Duke got the ball rolling in the singles competition as No. 13 ranked Hanna Mar swept Jennifer Kellner 6-4, 6-0. Surrendering the loss, Kellner’s dual season singles record moves to 8-5, while Mar improves to 4-1.
Notre Dame’s Britney Sanders, ranked 42nd, capitalized on an initial 5-2 lead in the first set to eventually win the set with a score of 6-4. However, the No. 38 ranked Ester Goldfeld rallied back and claimed both the second and third sets to win the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Duke claimed its fourth point and secured the win after No. 100 ranked Marianne Jodoin defeated Katherine White 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on the singles court number six.
With the overall team match decided with Duke claiming the doubles point, competitive play still continued. After dropping the first set, Molly O’Koniewski forced a tiebreaker in the second set. She won the tiebreaker in convincing fashion convincingly, 7-2, but would eventually lose the third set and the match to Annie Mulholland.
Chrissie McGaffigan picked up her second straight victory of the weekend. With the first two sets decided by tiebreakers against No. 66 Monica Turewicz, the match was eventually decided when Turewicz was forced to retire due to an ankle injury and was unable to continue play. McGaffigan was leading at the time of the injury, 8-6, and was granted the victory by default.
After getting blanked in the first set of the No. 3 singles match, Quinn Gleason rallied in the second to force a tiebreaker. She claimed the tiebreak with a score of 8-6. Gleason then went on to win another tiebreaker in the third set and defeated No. 62 Mary Clayton 0-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6).
The Blue Devils put themselves in a good position early in the doubles competition. Jodoin and Turewicz converted a 7-3 lead into an 8-4 win over the Irish’s Gleason and White on the No. 3 doubles court.
Notre Dame rallied back on the No. 2 doubles with a win of its own. The No. 38 ranked pairing of Sabacinski and Sanders built on their initial 5-1 lead to defeat Duke’s Clayton and Mullholland with a final score of 8-5.
With the doubles point up for grabs, it was up to the No. 1 doubles court to decide which team would claim the doubles point.. The No. 27 ranked duo of Goldfeld and Mar jumped out an early 3-0 lead over Notre Dame’s Kellner and McGaffigan. After several hard-fought games and a near comeback by the Irish, Duke’s Goldfeld and Mar we able to hold Kellner and McGaffigan with a final score of 8-5.
The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will return to action on Tuesday (March 12) as they travel to Athens, Ga., to face the Georgia Bulldogs in the first of three away matches during the team’s spring break.
No. 2 Duke 5, No. 18Notre Dame 2
Eck Tennis Pavilion Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. No. 38 Ester Goldfeld (DUKE) def. No. 42 Britney Sanders (ND) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
2. No. 13 Hanna Mar (DUKE) def. Jennifer Kellner (ND) 6-4, 6-0
3. Quinn Gleason (ND) def. No. 62 Mary Clayton (DUKE) 0-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6)
4. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. No. 66 Monica Turewicz (DUKE) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (1-7), 8-6 retired
5. Annie Mulholland (DUKE) def. Molly O’Koniewski (ND) 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 10-3
6. No. 100 Marianne Jodoin (DUKE) def. Katherine White (ND) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. No. 27 Ester Goldfeld/Hanna Mar (DUKE) def. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) 8-5
2. No. 38 Julie Sabacinski/Britney Sanders (ND) def. Mry Clayton/Annie Mulholland (DUKE) 8-5
3. Marianne Jodoin/Monica Turewicz (DUKE) def. Quinn Gleason/Katherine White (ND) 8-4
Match Notes
Duke 9-1; National ranking No. 2
Notre Dame 9-4; National ranking No. 18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,6,5,4,3)
T – 4:25 A – 151