Jan. 17, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 21 University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will open the 2014 spring season Saturday with a doubleheader. The Irish face Western Michigan at noon before playing IUPUI at 5 p.m. Both matches will be held at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
“We are really excited to get the season started,” says head coach Jay Louderback.
“We have been playing each other in practice for a while and are looking forward to some non-Irish opponents. Getting in to the dual match season quickly is important because our ACC schedule starts soon.”
2014 marks the start of Notre Dame’s transition into the Atlantic Coast conference, and the team’s first matchup against an ACC opponent is just over a month away. The challenge of the conference shows in the Irish schedule, as 15 future opponents are currently ranked.
Notre Dame also enters the season with sophomore Quinn Gleason nationally ranked at No. 67 and two doubles teams in the rankings as well. Gleason and senior Britney Sanders are 30th in the country and senior Jennifer Kellner and freshman Monica Robinson are at No. 26.
Western Michigan will play its first match of the season against Notre Dame as well before traveling to play Valparaiso later in the day on Saturday. Last season, the Broncos had an overall record of 11-14 and lost in the first round of the MAC Tournament. In the all-time series with Western Michigan, Notre Dame is 14-4 and 10-0 under Louderback.
Notre Dame is the second of three opponents on IUPUI’s schedule for the weekend. The Jaguars went 5-19 last season, and this is their first matchup against the Irish.
Fans can follow both matches through live stats. Links will be available on UND.com.
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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