ND Womens Tennis: Irish have plenty to gain, nothing to lose
By: JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
The Irish have had two weeks of relative ease. Now they face a weekend of formidable challenges.
Last weekend, the Irish easily dominated two Big East opponents, winning 6-1 in each contest. Prior to that, Notre Dame had a week off from competitive play.
But today, Notre Dame hosts No. 1 Duke.
Then, the Irish head south for a two-match road trip against No. 11 Tennessee Sunday and No. 25 Kentucky Monday.
The No. 19 Irish, who stand at 4-2, believe they have nothing to lose in the face of a trio of collegiate tennis powers.
"We don't have to worry about anything," said junior Caylan Leslie of tomorrow's match with Duke. "We can just go out there and give it our all and see how it goes."
Today will mark the first time a No. 1 team has ever visited the Eck Tennis Pavilion, and the Irish are excited by the prospects of testing their mettle against the nation's very best.
"It's a good opportunity," junior Alicia Salas said. "We have nothing to lose. It will be fun to go out there and have them here."
The undefeated Blue Devils trounced strong opponents such as No. 5 North Carolina, No. 10 California, and Kentucky in the National Indoor Team Championships. Additionally, Duke also triumphed over No. 12 Northwestern. The Tar Heels defeated the Irish 5-2, and the Wildcats triumphed over Notre Dame 7-0 during the same weekend.
Fortunately for Irish morale, those two consecutive losses were followed by their strong home victories over Boston College and Virginia Tech last weekend.
Against the Eagles and the Hokies, every member of the Irish squad earned at least one victory, and Notre Dame sees that as a crucial step forward in developing the talent of this relatively youthful team.
"I think everyone gained a lot of confidence in those," Leslie said. "It's just nice to get some wins under your belt."
Leslie's two singles wins last weekend were a considerable boost for her. She sat out all last season with an injury and has been struggling a little in her comeback this spring.
"It's been difficult," Leslie said. "It's slowly coming back. It's a lot tougher than I ever imagined."
This weekend will be tough for the entire team.
"We're a young team and I think we definitely have the ability to do well against [Duke, Tennessee, and Kentucky]," freshman Lauren Connelly said. "But, it will be definitely tiring."
Leslie said the team is focusing on today's challenge and trying not to concern themselves with Tennessee and Kentucky. Considering that Duke will probably be the toughest opponent of all, most of the challenges for the Irish lie early on in the weekend.
"We'll all excited about this weekend," Leslie said. "We know it'll be tough. You can't look too far ahead, otherwise you'll lose sight of what's right in front of you."
Salas, a veteran of many Irish matches, is optimistic. Last season the fourth-ranked Blue Devils topped the 23rd-ranked Irish, 6-1 in Durham, N.C. Salas expects the home court advantage to help make the Irish a more challenging opponent today.
"I think it was harder for us last year," she said. "We played them at Duke outdoors. I definitely think that the match will have a different flavor [today] since it's at home."
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 21, 2003
