April 11, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The fourth-ranked Irish women’s tennis team topped Texas A&M, 6-1, Saturday morning at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in their final regular-season match.
The Irish improve to 21-4 on the season, while the Aggies drop to 11-8.
Notre Dame swept all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead.
Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik traded points with Texas A&M’s Morgan Frank and Christi Liles at second doubles, before taking a 5-4 lead. The fifth Irish point sparked a 4-0 run that led to an 8-4 Notre Dame victory.
No. 3 Kelcy Tefft and Kristy Frilling downed Janelle Cuthbertson and Elze Potgieter, 8-4, at No. 1 doubles. The Irish duo broke a 3-3 tie to go up 5-3, but the Aggies pulled back within one. Tefft and Frilling took the next three points to clinch the doubles point with an 8-4 victory.
Shannon Mathews and Colleen Rielley outlasted Stephanie Davidson and Sheri Olivier, 9-8, at third doubles to complete the Irish sweep. Mathews and Rielley grabbed an early lead, but let the Aggies tie the match at 5-5. Notre Dame moved ahead, 7-6, before Davidson and Olivier forced a tiebreaker.
No. 36 Frilling put the Irish up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Frank at second singles. The freshman from Sidney, Ohio battled from a 0-1 deficit in the first set to take the next six points in the win.
Lauren Santacroce gave the Aggies their first point with a 6-1, 6-3 sixth-singles victory over Katie Potts.
Ciobanu was down 2-1 in the first set against Liles, but a 5-0 run by the Irish junior, gave Ciobanu the set at third singles. The Brea, Calif., native won the second set 6-2, to put Notre Dame up, 3-1.
Mathews topped Cuthbertson at No. 4 singles, 6-1, 6-2, to clinch the win for the Irish, while Krisik defeated Olivier in straight sets at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-2, to put Notre Dame up 5-1.
The 35th-ranked Tefft battled back from a 4-6 loss in the first set to take a 6-4 victory over Potgieter in the second set at No. 1 singles to force a tiebreaker. Tefft was done 5-1, before mounting a comeback to tie the break at 8-8. The senior from Enid, Okla., won the next two points to win the tiebreaker and take the match 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8).
The Irish will travel to Tampa, Fla., next week for the BIG EAST Championship.
Notre Dame 6 Texas A&M 1
Singles
1. #35 Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Elze Potgieter (TAMU) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
2. #36 Kristy Frilling (ND) def. #112 Morgan Frank (TAMU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Christi Liles (TAMU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Janelle Cuthbertson (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Kali Krisk (ND) def. Sheri Olivier (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU) def. Katie Potts (ND), 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 3, 4, 5, 1
Doubles
1. #3 Tefft/Frilling (ND) def. Cuthbertson/Potgieter (TAMU) 8-4
2. Ciobanu/Krisik (ND) def. Frank/Liles (TAMU) 8-4
3. Mathews Rielley (ND) def. Davidson/Olivier (TAMU) 9-8
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3