Feb. 18, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s tennis team routed No. 20 Wake Forest, 7-0, Sunday afternoon inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish, winners of four consecutive matches, improve to 9-1 on the season, while the Demon Deacons drop to 4-1. Notre Dame also extended its home winning streak in dual matches to 24.
After dropping the doubles point in its last outing against No. 7 North Carolina, Notre Dame regained form Sunday against the Demon Deacons. The Irish swept all three doubles matches to secure the all-important 1-0 lead.
Freshman Colleen Rielley (Overland Park, KS) made the score 2-0 with a 7-6 (0), 6-4, straight-set victory at No. 3 over Christian Tara. Rielley has now captured each of her last two matches following a four-match losing streak. She improves to 15-9 overall and 4-6 in dual matches.
Sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, OK) pushed the Irish lead to 3-0 following her dominating victory at No. 4. Tefft cruised past Sierra Poske in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. She upped her record to 11-4 overall and 6-1 in dual action.
Freshman Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, CA) clinched the victory for the Irish for the second consecutive match. Ciobanu, who leads Notre Dame with four match-clinching victories this season, defeated Anna Jerman in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1. Ciobanu extended her winning streak in singles to nine matches and remains the only Irish player undefeated in dual matches (10-0). She now stands 20-4 overall and all of her team-high 20 wins have come in straight-sets.
Senior #41 Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) put Notre Dame ahead, 5-0, with her tremendous effort at No. 1 singles. Thompson outlasted #29 Alex Hirsch, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, for her fifth consecutive victory overall and second of the weekend against a top 40 opponent. Thompson knocked off #33 Austin Smith of North Carolina in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, on Friday night. She improves to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in dual matches. The victory was Thompson’s 10th over a ranked player this season. She is now 10-4 in those matches.
Twin sister Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) followed with a hard-fought win of her own at No. 2 singles. Thompson fought off #79 Ashlee Davis in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-4, giving the Irish a 6-0 lead. Thompson, who lost on Friday night against #19 Katrina Tasang of North Carolina, evened her overall record at 8-8 and improved to 5-4 in dual matches.
Junior Brook Buck (Yukon, OK) closed the scoring at 7-0 with her three-set victory over Sasha Kulikova at No. 6. Buck dropped the opening set, 6-4, but answered back with a 6-0 drubbing in the second set and dug out the third and final set, 7-5, to secure the win. Buck improved to 8-5 overall and 5-1 in dual matches with her fourth consecutive victory.
The fifth-ranked duo of Buck and Tefft rebounded from one of their worst outings of the year against the Tar Heels with possibly their best of the season against Wake Forest. The tandem routed #49 Davis and Kulikova, 8-2, at No. 2. Buck and Tefft improved to 16-4 overall and 8-1 in dual action. The victory is the 50th career win for the duo. Buck and Tefft now stand 50-10 over the past two seasons.
Krisik and Ciobanu clinched the doubles point for Notre Dame at No. 3 with their fourth consecutive victory. The tandem upended Tara and Jerman, 8-6, and tied Buck and Tefft for the team-lead with three doubles clinching victories. Krisik and Ciobanu improved to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in dual matches.
Despite the point being already decided, the Thompson twins knocked off Hirsch and Poske at No. 1, 8-4. The Thompsons upped their overall record to 14-5 and 6-2 in dual action. The twin sisters are now 86-36 over their Notre Dame careers.
The Irish return to action on Sunday, Feb. 25 against Iowa. First-serve inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion against the Hawkeyes will get underway at 10:00 a.m.
#2 NOTRE DAME 7, #20 WAKE FOREST 0
Singles
1. #41 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #29 Alex Hirsch (WF); 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Christian Thompson (ND) def. #79 Ashlee Davis (WF); 7-6 (5), 6-4
3. #31 Colleen Rielley (ND) def. #55 Christian Tara (WF); 7-6 (0), 6-4
4. Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Sierra Poske (WF); 6-2, 6-1
*5. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Ana Jerman (WF); 7-5, 6-1
6. Brook Buck (ND) def. Sasha Kulikova (WF); 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
Doubles
1. #11 Thompson/Thompson (ND) def. Hirsch/Poske (WF); 8-4
2. #5 Buck/Tefft (ND) def. #49 Davis/Kulikova (WF); 8-2
*3. Ciobanu/Krisik (ND) def. Tara/Jerman (WF); 8-6
Order of Finish
Doubles (2,3,1)
Singles (3,4,5,1,2,6)
* clinched point/match
— ND —