Feb. 25, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s tennis team tied the school record with its 25th consecutive home dual match victory following Sunday’s 7-0 rout of No. 59 Iowa inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish improve to 10-1 on the season, while the Hawkeyes drop to 3-4.
Notre Dame’s home dual match winning streak dates back to Feb. 26, 2005. The current streak tied the previous mark that stretched from Sept. 24, 1979 through Sept. 25, 1982.
Junior Brook Buck (Yukon, OK) continued her dominating play for the Irish at No. 6 singles. She pushed the Irish lead to 2-0 with her 6-2, 6-1 straight-set victory over Kelcie Klockenga. Buck, who has won five consecutive matches, has given Notre Dame the opening singles point in three of its last four matches. She improved to 9-5 overall and 6-1 in dual matches.
Freshman Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, CA) made the Notre Dame advantage, 3-0, with her 11th consecutive victory. Ciobanu improved to 21-4 overall and 11-0 in dual matches following her 6-3, 6-0 straight-set victory over Merel Beelen at No. 5. She not only remains the only Irish player undefeated in dual action, but at 11-0 Ciobanu currently sits atop the all-time list for single-season winning percentage in dual matches (with a minimum of 10 matches). Over her 11-match winning streak, Ciobanu has registered bagels in five different sets and surrendered just a game on five other occasions.
Senior Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) clinched the victory for the Irish with her 6-4, 6-1 straight-set triumph over Milica Veselinovic at No. 2. Thompson moved over .500 overall (9-8) with the win and now stands 6-4 in dual matches.
Twin sister Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) made the score, 5-0, in favor of the Irish following her victory over Jacqueline Lee at No. 1. Thompson won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, for her sixth consecutive victory. She improved to 14-5 overall and 9-2 in dual matches.
Sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, OK) gave Notre Dame a 6-0 lead with a straight-set win at No. 4. Tefft upended Kayla Berry, 6-4, 6-1, for her sixth straight victory. She improved to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in dual matches. For her career, Tefft is 40-9 overall and 27-5 in dual action.
Freshman Colleen Rielley (Overland Park, KS) closed the scoring for the Irish with her come-from-behind victory at No. 3. Rielley trailed Hillary Mintz, 5-2, in the opening set only to rally for a 6-5 lead with a chance to serve for the match, but was broken. Rielley then dropped the ensuing tiebreaker, 7-4. She rebounded from the disappointing setback and cruised in the second set, 6-0, and took the match with a 10-7 victory in the third set, super tiebreaker. Rielley improved to 16-9 overall and 5-6 in dual matches.
Notre Dame took the all-important doubles point to grab a 1-0 lead over Iowa. The Irish swept all three matches in convincing fashion.
The freshman tandem of Ciobanu and Kali Krisik (Arkansas City, KS) opened doubles action with an 8-3 victory over Berry and Klockenga at No. 3. Ciobanu and Krisik have won their last five matches and improved to 15-3 overall and 9-2 in dual matches.
The 15th-ranked duo of Buck and Tefft clinched the doubles point for Notre Dame with their 8-1 rout of Mintz and Beelen. Buck and Tefft, who lead the Irish with four doubles’ point-clinching victories, upped their record to 17-4 overall and 9-1 in dual action. They now stand 51-10 for their career, including 33-5 in dual matches. Buck and Tefft not only rank third in school history for career wins by a single doubles team, but they also moved past Lauren Connelly and Alicia Salas into third place on the career list for dual-match victories by a single doubles team.
With the point already decided, the Thompson twins put the finishing touches on the sweep. The fifth-ranked twins cruised past Lee and Veselinovic at No. 1, 8-3. They improved to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in dual matches.
With the victory, Notre Dame improves its all-time record against the Hawkeyes to 14-1. The Irish extended their winning streak over Iowa to 10 games – a span that dates back to the 1999 season. Notre Dame improved to 10-1 all-time against the Hawkeyes in South Bend.
The Irish return to action next weekend with matches against No. 27 Texas A&M (Friday, March 2 at 3:00 p.m.) and No. 21 Texas (Saturday, March 3 at 1:00 p.m.). Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Texas A&M, 3-1, and has won each of the last three meetings. The Longhorns lead the all-time series with the Irish, 8-3.
#2 NOTRE DAME 7, #59 IOWA 0
Singles
1. #16 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. Jacqueline Lee (Iowa), 6-1, 6-4
2. Christian Thompson (ND) def. Milica Veselinovic (Iowa), 6-4, 6-1
3. Colleen Rielley (ND) def. Hillary Mintz (Iowa), 6-7 (4), 6-0, 1-0 (10-7)
4. Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Kayla Berry (Iowa), 6-1, 6-4
5. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Merel Beelen (Iowa), 6-3, 6-0
6. Brook Buck (ND) def. Kelcie Klockenga (Iowa), 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,5,2,1,4,3
* clinching point
Doubles
1. #5 Thompson/Thompson (ND) def. Lee/Veselinovic (Iowa), 8-3
*2. #15 Buck/Tefft (ND) vs. Mintz/Beelen (Iowa), 8-1
3. Ciobanu/Kali Krisik (ND) def. Berry/Klockenga (Iowa), 8-3
Order of finish: 3,2,1
* clinching point
— ND —