April 9, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Braving cold temperatures and windy conditions, the sixth-ranked Irish women’s tennis team took to the outdoor courts at the Courtney Tennis Center and swept No. 19 South Florida, 7-0, Friday. With the win, Notre Dame improved to 17-3, while the Bulls fell to 10-6 on the season.
The Irish jumped on the board first after sweeping the doubles point. Chrissie McGaffigan (Davenport, Iowa/Bettendorf) and Kristen Rafael (Grand Prairie, Texas/Nolan Catholic) cruised past Ecaterina Vasenina and Jessica Zok, 8-0 at No. 3 doubles, while the third-ranked duo of Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio/Lehman & Abeka) and Kali Krisik (Arkansas City, Kan./Arkansas City) won their 16th-straight match and clinched the point for the Irish with an 8-6 victory over No. 16 Irene Rehberger and Melissa Koning at first doubles. Cosmina Ciobanu (Brea, Calif./Troy) and Shannon Mathews (Birmingham, Mich./Cranbrook-Kingswood) battled Janette Bejlkova and Lauren Shumate at No. 2 doubles, eventually coming away with an 8-6 win to complete the sweep.
Mathews gave the Irish a 2-0 lead and snapped her three-match losing streak with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Koning at second singles. Krisik topped Zok 6-0, 6-4 at No. 5 singles to earn her 11th win of the season and give Notre Dame the 3-0 advantage. No. 113 McGaffigan improved to 13-7 on the season and clinched the win for the Irish with a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Vasenina at No. 3 singles.
Ciobanu took the No. 4 singles match after Bejlkova was forced to retire due to injury. No. 18 Frilling edged No. 41 Rehberger, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0, at No. 1 singles to earn her 16th win of the season, and Rafael improved to 8-7 on the year with a 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 victory over Natalia Guevara at No. 6 singles.
The Irish will wrap up the regular season next weekend when they host DePaul and Marquette.
#6 Notre Dame 7, #19 South Florida 0
Singles
1. #18 Kristy Frilling (ND) def. #41 Irene Rehberger (USF) 7-6, 4-6, 1-0
2. Shannon Mathews (ND) def. Melissa Koning (USF) 6-1, 6-2
3. #113 Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Ecaterina Vasenina 7-5, 6-0
4. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Janette Bejlkova (USF) 7-6, 1-4, ret.
5. Kali Krisik (ND) def. Jessica Zok (USF) 6-0, 6-4
6. Kristen Rafael (ND) def. Natalia Guevara (USF) 5-7, 6-2, 1-0
Order of finish: 2,5,3,4,1,6
Doubles
1. #3 Frilling/Krisik (ND) def. #16 Rehberger/Koning (USF) 8-6
2. Ciobanu/Mathews (ND) def. Bejlkova/Shumate (USF) 8-6
3. McGaffigan/Rafael (ND) def. Vasenina/Zok (USF) 8-0
Order of finish: 3,1,2
–ND–