SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s tennis program is coming off a great weekend of individual performances, which included three title wins. It all started with Esther Vyrlan winning the Laguna Creek Women’s Open, followed by Sophia Holod claiming the ITA Masters Series crown at Wake Forest. Jessica Kovalcik then capped off a perfect weekend with the Ball State ITA championship.
Esther Vyrlan started her tournament in the Round of 16 and absolutely cruised to the semifinals, winning her first two matches by a combined score of 24-3. The rising junior then knocked off Nahreen Cheam 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 to make Sunday’s title game, where she defeated Lyla van Loben Sels in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Holod and Kovalcik are both coming off stellar freshman-year debuts for the Irish and are already building upon them. First, Sophia Holod produced a 3-0 record in group 3 of the ITA Masters Series at Wake Forest.
She won all three matches in straight sets, defeating Sabritt Dozier, Gabriella Kellner and Gabriela Somoano. Holod kept the perfect weekend going with a third-set 10-8 super-tiebreak win over Katie Rolls on Saturday. She then capped it with a 7-5, 6-4 title win over Patricia Grigoras on Sunday.
Kovalcik received a first-round bye and then won three consecutive straight-set matches to reach the final of the ITA Summer Series hosted by Ball State. Kovalcik then dispatched Amiya Bowles, 6-3, 6-4, in the championship final.
– ND –