March 27, 2004
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C – The 23rd-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team (8-5) lost 7-0 to No. 33 Wake Forest (9-7) Saturday afternoon at the Leighton Tennis Stadium. Coming off a 4-3 win over No. 9 North Carolina on Wednesday, the Demon Deacons swept the singles matches and won two of three doubles matches to register their second win over a top-25 opponent in four days. The Irish will be action again tomorrow at 1p.m. (EST), taking on North Carolina at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.
Notre Dame’s only win on the day came at No. 2 doubles, as senior co-captain Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) and sophomore Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) defeated Danielle Schwartz and Aimee Smith 8-2. Salas and Connelly are 9-4 in dual match play and 15-6 overall.
No. 3 doubles was the first match off the court as Karin Coetzee and Liz Proctor topped junior Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and sophomore Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) 8-1.
Ashlee Davis and Katie Martzolf claimed the initial point for Wake Forest with an 8-6 win over Irish freshman twins Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) at No 1 doubles. Notre Dame has dropped the doubles point in each of it’s five losses.
The Demon Deacons took a 2-0 lead as Coetzee, ranked 22nd nationally posted a 6-0, 6-3 win over Christian Thompson at No. 2 singles.
At the top postion, Davis handed 10th-ranked Salas her first loss in seven matches with a 6-3, 6-1 decision. It was the second straight win over a top-20 opponent for the freshman, who beat No. 29 Aniela Mojzis in the win over North Carolina. Salas falls to 22-9 on the season, 10-3 in dual match play.
Proctor clinched the win for Wake Forest outlasting Lauren Connelly at the No. 4 postion 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).
The Irish won the first set at Nos. 3 and 5 singles, but could not hold on. At No. 5, Stastny lost a three set decision to Schwartz 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. At No. 3 singles, Catrina Thompson, ranked 92nd nationally, lost a tough decision to Martzolf in a match tiebreaker 6-7 (8-6), 7-6, (7-4), 1-0 (11-9).
In the final match remaining, Smith snapped a six-match losing streak with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Liz Donohue at No. 6 singles.
Today’s match marked the fifteenth meeting between Notre Dame and Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons lead the series 9-6.
#33 Wake Forest 7, #23 Notre Dame 0
Singles
No. 1: Ashlee Davis (WF) def. #10 Alicia Salas (ND) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2: #22 Karin Coetzee (WF) def. Christian Thompson (ND) 6-0, 6-3
No. 3: Katie Martzolf (WF) def. Catrina Thompson (ND) 6-7 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (11-9)
No. 4: *Liz Proctor (WF) def. Lauren Connelly (ND) 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)
No. 5: Danielle Schwartz (WF) def. Kristina Stastny (ND) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6: Aimee Smith (WF) def. Liz Donohue (ND) 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 4*, 5, 3, 6
Doubles
No. 1: !Martzolf/Davis (WF) def. #38 Thompson/Thompson (ND) 8-6
No. 2: L. Connelly/Salas (ND) def. Schwartz/Smith (WF) 8-2
No. 3: Coetzee/Proctor (WF) def. S.J. Connelly/Stastny (ND) 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1!
* denotes clinching win; ! denotes clinching win in final match on-court
— ND —