March 30, 2007
WICHITA, Kan. – The undermanned No. 2 Notre Dame women’s tennis team went on the road and knocked off No. 28 Wichita State, 5-2, Friday afternoon. The Irish registered their 12th consecutive win and improved to 17-1 on the season, while the Shockers dropped to 16-2.
Notre Dame, playing without the services of junior Brook Buck (Yukon, OK) and freshman Colleen Rielley (Overland Park, KS), still managed to come away with their 15th victory this season against a ranked opponent.
The Irish quickly grabbed a 1-0 lead following doubles action. The fourth-ranked tandem of senior Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) and senior Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) cruised past Madina Rakhim and Florentina Hanisch, 8-4, at No. 1. The Thompson twins improved to 21-6 overall and 13-3 in dual matches following their fourth consecutive victory.
Freshman Kali Krisik (Arkansas City, AK) and sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, OK) clinched the doubles point for the Irish following their 8-4 victory over Stephanie Dalmacio and Anna Egorova at No. 2. The duo was playing together for the first time this season.
Freshman Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, CA) and sophomore Katie Potts (Brookfield, WI) made it a sweep with their 8-6 triumph over Jackie Rickey and Torrie Browning at No. 3. Ciobanu and Potts improved to 5-0 on the season and 1-0 in dual action. The tandem was playing their first match together since Oct. 8, 2006.
Christian Thompson quickly pushed the Notre Dame lead to 2-0 at No. 2 singles. Thompson had little trouble with Hanisch, walking away with a 6-1, 6-0 win. She improved to 13-11 overall and 10-7 in dual matches.
The Shockers narrowed the deficit to 2-1 when #19 Catrina Thompson was upset at No. 1. Rakhim snapped her five-match winning streak with a 7-6, 6-3 victory. Thompson now stands 19-7 overall and 14-4 in dual action.
Krisik, making just her second dual singles appearance of the season, gave Notre Dame a 3-1 advantage with a straight-set victory at No. 6. Krisik upended Browning, 7-5, 6-2, to improve her record to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in dual matches.
Tefft clinched the match for the Irish following her 7-5, 6-2 straight-set victory over Lenore Lazaroiu at No. 3. Tefft improved to 17-6 overall and 12-3 in dual action.
#62 Ciobanu made the score, 5-1, and extended her winning streak to 18 matches. She outlasted Dalmacio, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 at No. 5. Ciobanu now stands 28-4 overall and 18-0 in dual matches. Ciobanu remains the only Notre Dame player undefeated in dual play.
Potts dropped her match at No. 5 to close the scoring. Egorova was victorious in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Potts fell to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in dual matches.
The Irish return to action on Sunday afternoon at No. 37 Tulsa. First-serve with the Golden Hurricane is scheduled for noon.
#2 NOTRE DAME 5, #28 WICHITA STATE 2
Singles
No. 1 Madina Rakhim (WSU) def. No. 19 Catrina Thompson (ND); 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 Christian Thompson (ND) def. Florentina Hanisch (WSU); 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Lenore Lazaroiu (WSU); 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 No. 62 Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Stephanie Dalmacio (WSU); 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
No. 5 Anna Egorova (WSU) def. Katie Potts (ND); 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Kali Krisik (ND) def. Torrie Browning (WSU); 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 No. 4 Catrina Thompson/Christian Thompson (ND) def. Rakhim/Hanisch (WSU); 8-4
No. 2 Krisik/Tefft (ND) def. Dalmacio/Egorova (WSU); 8-4
No. 3 Ciobanu/Potts (ND) def. Richey/Browning (WSU); 8-6
— ND —