ND Women's Tennis: Irish seek revenge against first round foe
By: COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
After a pair of tough matches against Kentucky and Indiana last weekend, the competition doesn't get any easier this week for the Notre Dame women's tennis team, as it heads to Madison, Wisc., to take part in the four-day USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The tournament will showcase 16 top teams from across the nation in a four-day, dual match format that begins today.
The Irish will have to be on top of their game to even make it to the second round, however, as they draw the tough USC Trojans as a first round opponent. During the preseason, USC beat the Irish in a close, but convincing 5-2 victory.
Head coach Jay Louderback is excited about the prospect of a rematch.
"It's going to be a lot of fun playing SC in the first round," he said. "They've got a great group of kids, and it's always competitive when we play them."
In their first meeting against Southern Cal, Notre Dame's top singles player, Becky Varnum, scored a big 6-1, 6-3 upset against USC's highly-ranked Jewel Peterson.
Currently mired in a minor slump, Varnum hopes she can use this tournament as a springboard to getting her game back on the right track.
"I've been struggling a little bit, but the shots will start to fall eventually," said Varnum.
However, she was quick to add that any individual goals were secondary to the goals of the entire team.
"It's definitely not about individual redemption. Our ultimate goal is to win every match as a team," she said.
To achieve that, Louderback knows that the Irish will have to exhibit better focus than they have recently. The coach blamed a lack of concentration for last weekend's surprise loss to Indiana and hopes that the same problem won't resurface this week.
"Our mechanics are solid and everyone has the strokes, but we need to work on our mentality a little more. Staying positive and focused will be very important," he said.
If talk is any indication, then the team is definitely thinking positively about the upcoming competition. According to Varnum, the general mood around the team is very upbeat, and any disappointment over last weekend's performance hasn't lingered.
"We're all looking forward to the tournament, and I think we all have a very positive mentality," she said. "We know we can do well there."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, February 7, 2002
