Sept. 14, 2006
Senior All-America twins Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) were ranked No. 3 in doubles to headline the Notre Dame contingent represented in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason national singles and doubles rankings. Catrina Thompson, No. 22, and junior Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School), No. 66, were the highest rated Irish players in singles. Christian Thompson, No. 91, was the third and final Notre Dame player in the top 100. Buck and sophomore Kelcy Tefft (Enid, Okla./Chisholm H.S.) were rated No. 27 in doubles.
Notre Dame is one of just three schools, joining Stanford and UCLA, which feature three singles players inside the top 100 and two doubles teams among the top 30. The Irish have three players ranked in the top 100 for the first time since 1999. That season, Michelle Dasso was No. 8, Becky Varnum was No. 47 and Jennifer Hall was No. 54.
The Thompson twins were named ITA All-Americans in doubles last year for the second consecutive season. They finished the season with a 22-7 record and were No. 10 in the final ITA national doubles rankings. Catrina and Christian even climbed as high as No. 1 last spring.
The twins also delivered Notre Dame’s first-ever ITA grand-slam title, winning the doubles draw in last year’s Riviera ITA All-American Championships. They lost in the quarterfinals of the season’s second grand slam, the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, to eventual champions Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey of Stanford. Barnes and Yelsey finished the year as the nation’s top-ranked duo.
Catrina and Christian were 16-5 in dual-match action at No. 1 and posted an 8-5 record against nationally ranked teams. They were ranked in the top 10 all season. For their careers, they own a 72-30 record, including 28-17 against nationally ranked opponents.
The duo remains the only Notre Dame twins ever to earn All-America accolades. Only three Irish women’s tennis players previously had been All-Americans in multiple seasons: Wendy Crabtree (1993-94, 1994-95), Jennifer Hall (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99) and Dasso (1998-99, 2000-01). Since 1994, Notre Dame has seen eight different players garner a total of 17 All-America citations.
In singles, Catrina Thompson went 29-12 overall and 18-6 in dual action. She was named Most Outstanding Performer at the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament for the second consecutive season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship. Christian went 22-12 overall and 15-9 in dual action. She spent most of the spring at No. 2 going 13-8.
Buck, who ended last season ranked No. 90, went 24-10 in singles, including 18-7 in dual action. She spent most of the year in the No. 3 spot for the Irish going 14-6. Buck posted an even better record in the No. 2 spot at 4-1. She went 18-2 in regional matches and led the squad with seven match-clinching victories. Buck also registered an impressive 24-4 mark in doubles with Tefft. The duo went 19-3 at No. 2 doubles in dual matches.
Tefft enters this season following an impressive rookie campaign. She went 28-5 overall, 20-4 in dual action and ended the season with a seven-match winning streak. Tefft was a perfect 6-0 at No. 2 and 14-4 at No. 4. She also posted three victories over ranked opponents. Tefft joined Catrina Thompson, Buck and Kiki Stastny on the BIG EAST All-Tournament team.
Notre Dame went 27-2 last year and finished fifth nationally after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Irish were rated as the top squad in the Midwest Region for the first time since 1999-2000. In singles, Catrina Thompson was ranked third, Buck eighth, Christian Thompson 11th and Tefft 23rd. The twins were second in doubles, behind the NCAA championship team of Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis from Northwestern. Buck and Tefft were ranked ninth.
The Irish open the 2006-07 campaign from Sept. 22-24 in the Roberta Allison Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
— ND —