April 23, 2000

MIAMI, Fla. — The 13th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team won just two singles matches in losing just its second match since March in a 5-2 lost to 51st-ranked and second-seeded Miami on Sunday in the final of the BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Championships at the Neil Schiff Tennis Complex in Miami, Fla. Junior All-American Michelle Dasso — one of two Irish winners in singles — was named the Championship’s most outstanding player. Irish head coach Jay Louderback was named the BIG EAST coach of the year for the fourth time in the last five years. The loss drops the Irish to 21-6 on the season.

Dasso defeated Alanna Broderick 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, while senior Kelly Zalinski defeated Katia Bogomolova 6-4, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Miami swept through the bottom of the lineup without losing a set to a take a 3-2 lead. The Hurricanes then won at No. 2 singles to lead 4-2 heading into doubles. Broderick and Eva Jimenez defeated Zalinski and sophomore Lindsey Green 8-5 at No. 2 doubles to clinch the win for Miami.

The 51st-ranked Hurricanes are the lowest-ranked team to defeat the Irish since 56th-ranked Kentucky beat a 12th-ranked Notre Dame team 5-4 in 1997. The meeting between the teams marked their second in eight days after the Irish won 6-3 over the visiting Hurricanes on Sat., April 15.

#51 MIAMI 5, #13 NOTRE DAME 2

Singles

No. 1: #16 Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Alanna Broderick (M) 6-1, 6-3

No. 2: Meredith Laughlin (M) def. Becky Varnum (ND) 7-6 (1), 6-4

No. 3: Kelly Zalinski (ND) def. Katia Bogomolova (M) 6-4, 6-0

No. 4: Marcy Hora (M) def. Nina Vaughan (ND) 6-2, 6-0

No. 5: Lauren Scaglione (M) def. Lindsey Green (ND) 6-4, 6-4

No. 6: Eva Jimenez (M) def. Katie Cunha (ND) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1: #27 Dasso/Varnum (ND) vs. Bogomolova/Hora (M) 2-3, abandoned

No. 2: Broderick/Jimenez (M) def. Green/Zalinski (ND) 8-5

No. 3 Cunha/Vaughan (ND) vs. Laughlin/Scaglione (M) 2-1, abandoned