April 3, 2009
CHICAGO – The third-ranked Irish women’s tennis team improved to 18-3 overall and 2-0 in BIG EAST play with a 5-2 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons Friday evening.
The Irish took the doubles point after sweeping all three matches. Shannon Mathews and Colleen Rielley defeated Kirsten Gambrell and Gia McKnight, 8-0, at No. 3 doubles while third-ranked Kelcy Tefft and Kristy Frilling downed Anna Redecsi and Selma Salkovic, 8-4, at first doubles to clinch the point for the Irish.
DePaul’s Dunja Antunovic and Katarina Milinkovic had momentum swinging their way as they took the second doubles match to a tiebreaker, but Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik outlasted the Blue Demon duo, 9-8, to complete the sweep.
Milinkovic tied the score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Rielley at No. 6 singles, but the Irish won the next two matches to up their lead to 3-1. No. 35 Tefft defeated Antunovic, 6-4, 6-1, at first singles, while Krisik topped McKnight, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 5.
Redecsi cut the Irish lead to 3-2 with a 7-5, 6-2 upset of No. 36 Frilling at No. 2 singles.
Ciobanu clinched the win for the Irish with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Salkovic at third singles. Mathews gave Notre Dame its fifth point with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4) victory over Sandra Zmak at No. 4 singles.
The Irish will make the short trip to Evanston, Ill., Saturday for a noon matchup with top-ranked Northwestern.
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