March 15, 2012
HONOLULU, Hawai’i – The No. 19 University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team improved its record to 11-4 on the season, defeating No. 58 Hawai’i, 6-1, Wednesday at the UH Tennis Complex. The victory improves the Irish to 5-0 all-time against the Rainbow Wahine.
Notre Dame made it six straight matches in which it has converted the doubles point, earning victories at No. 1 and No. 3. Seniors Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich.) got back to their winning ways at No. 1, defeating Barbara Pinterova and Jamie Pawid, 8-4.
The Irish duo earned their first victory since jumping to the #1-ranked doubles team in the nation in the newest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. They are the fourth Irish tandem to climb to the top spot in the polls in program history, joining Catrina and Christian Thompson (twice), Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft (’07-08) and Tefft and Frilling (’08-09).
Junior Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa) and sophomore Jennifer Kellner (Smithtown, N.Y.) earned their 10th win of the dual season to give the Irish the doubles victory, knocking off Aglae Van den Bergh and Martina Kostalova, 8-4, at No. 3. The lone doubles loss for the Irish came at the No. 2 court where sophomores Britney Sanders (Ontario, Calif.) and Julie Sabacinski (Plantation, Fla.) fell to Katarina Poljakova and Xenia Suworowa, 8-6.
In singles action, Notre Dame claimed five of the six matches to pull away for the 6-1 victory. Sanders finished first, defeating Kostalova at No. 4 (6-4, 6-3), before McGaffigan and Kellner finished at No. 5 and 3, respectively, to clinch the overall match. McGaffigan won a close contest against Suworowa (7-5, 6-4), while Kellner knocked off Pawid (6-3, 7-5).
Hawai’i got on the board at No. 6 singles, as freshman Katherine White (Columbus, Ga.) was unable to hold on to an early lead against Van den Bergh. After claiming the first set 6-2, White fell in the following two sets (6-3, 6-1) to put the Wahine into the score column. The top of the Irish lineup closed out the decisive victory, as #49 Mathews defeated Pinterova (6-4, 3-6, 7-5) at No. 1 and #84 Frilling put away Poljakova (7-6 (7-5), 6-3) at No. 2.
The Irish conclude their Hawaiian Islands trip Thursday against Wyoming. First serve is schedule for 5:00 p.m. (ET) at the UH Tennis Complex. Be sure to check back with UND.com for a complete recap of the Irish as they look to complete a perfect 3-0 trip.
Notre Dame vs. Hawai'iMar 14, 2012 at Honolulu, Hawaii (UH Tennis Complex)#19 Notre Dame 6, #58 Hawai'i 1
Singles Competition:1. #49 Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Barbara Pinterova (UH) 6-4, 3-6, 7-52. #84 Kristy Frilling (ND) def. Katarina Poljakova (UH) 7-6 (5), 6-33. Jennifer Kellner (ND) def. Jamie Pawid (UH) 6-3, 7-54. Britney Sanders (ND) Martina Kostalova (UH) 6-4, 6-35. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Xenia Suworowa (UH) 7-5, 6-46. Aglae Van den Bergh (UH) def. Katherine White (ND) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Competition:1. #1 Kristy Frilling/Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Barbara Pinterova/Jamie Pawid (UH) 8-42. Katarina Poljakova/Xenia Suworowa (UH) def. Britney Sanders/Julie Sabacinski (ND) 8-63. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Aglae Van den Bergh/Martina Kostalova (UH) 8-4
Match NotesNotre Dame 11-4; National ranking #19Hawai'i 6-7; National rankings #58Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1)
–ND–