SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The 24th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team mounted an epic comeback Friday evening in the Eck Tennis Pavilion, coming back from a three-point deficit to beat 29th-ranked Wake Forest 4-3. The Irish scored four straight points in singles play to improve to 12-1 this spring and 2-0 in conference play.
Wake Forest got the early jump in doubles, winning 6-3 at both courts two and three. Carrie Beckman/Maria Olivia Castedo did pick up a ranked win at No. 1 singles against No. 75 Makayla Mills/Krystal Blanch, winning 6-4.
The Demon Deacons got out to a 3-0 lead in the match after straight set wins at No. 6 singles and No. 3 singles. But the Irish would counter immediately.
Bianca Molnar got a win at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 7-5 for the first Notre Dame point. Bojana Pozder knocked off No. 95 Krystal Blanch 7-6 (6), 6-1 to pull the Irish within one.
The resistance of the Irish persisted. Nibi Ghosh tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 5 singles, leaving the fate of the match to the top singles pairing.
Akari Matsuno, the 109th-ranked player in the ITA rankings, battled in the first set for a 7-5 win. In the second set, the junior cruised to a 6-2 win for the straight sets victory and her seventh singles win of the spring.
Notre Dame continues the conference slate on Sunday against 15th-ranked NC State at 11 am inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Admission to all Irish tennis matches is free.