March 16, 2007
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s tennis team improved to 15-1 on the season following their 6-1 rout of No. 19 Tennessee Friday afternoon at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif.
The Irish have now captured 10 straight matches and 36 of their last 38 regular season matches the past two seasons.
Notre Dame put the first tally on the scoreboard by sweeping all three doubles contests. The fifth-rated tandem of senior twins Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) and Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, NV) took out the Volunteer duo of Blakeley Griffith and Samantha Orlin, 8-1, at the top spot, while the nation’s No. 52-pairing of freshman Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, CA) and freshman Kali Krisik (Arkansas City, KS) clinched the initial point of the match at No. 3 with an 8-4 win over senior Victoria Jones and Vogel.
The final contest also went to the Fighting Irish, as junior Brook Buck (Yukon, OK) and sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, OK) – ranked #24 — defeated Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsofia Zubor, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles.
In singles play, Notre Dame opened with three quick victories to ensure the dual-match victory. The first match to finish came on center court, where #27 Catrina Thompson claimed a 6-0, 6-3, win over No. 22 Griffith. #31 Ciobanu followed shortly thereafter with an easy 6-2, 6-0, victory over Jones at No. 5 before Tefft clinched the team win with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Orlin at the No. 4 position.
The Volunteers were able to keep the Irish from taking home a shutout behind the strength of Vogel’s win, but was unable to do any more damage, falling in the final two contests. Freshman Colleen Rielley (Overland Park, KS) emerged victorious in a hard-fought match with Whoriskey on the third court, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5), and Buck earned a 6-4, 7-6 win over Zubor at the last spot in the lineup to round out the score.
#2 NOTRE DAME 6, #19 TENNESSEE 1
Singles
1. #27 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #22 Blakeley Griffith (TN); 6-0, 6-3
2. Connor Vogel (TN) def. #89 Christian Thompson (ND); 7-5, 6-2
3. Colleen Rielley (ND) def. Caitlin Whoriskey (TN); 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)
*4. Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Samantha Orlin (TN); 6-2, 6-4
5. #31 Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Vicky Jones (TN); 6-2, 6-0
6. Brook Buck (ND) def. Zsofia Zubor (TN); 6-3, 7-6
Order of finish: 1,5,2,4,3,6
* clinching point
Doubles
1. #5 Thompson/Thompson (ND) def. Griffith/Orlin (TN); 8-1
2. #24 Buck/Tefft (ND) def. Whoriskey/Zubor (TN); 8-5
*3. #52 Ciobanu/Kali Krisik (ND) def. Jones/Vogel (TN); 8-4
Order of finish: 1,3,2
* clinching point
— ND —