Irish doubles fall early at Rolex
By KEVIN BERCHOU
Sports Writer
Some things just aren't meant to be.
The women's tennis team's foray into the Rolex National Intercollegiate Tennis Championships ended abruptly as both doubles pairings lost early.
The 10th-ranked tandem of junior Michelle Dasso and sophomore Becky Varnum could not rally from a first-set deficit and fell 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to California's Claire Curran and Anita Kurimay in the opening round.
The coupling of junior Kimberly Guy and freshman Katie Cunha fared no better, dropping their first match (6-3, 6-4) to Lindsay Blau and Michelle Gough of Arizona.
Both losses, however, came against sound competitors; California's Curran and Kurimay and Arizona's Blau and Gough advanced to the finals.
Guy and Cunha were unable to salvage any pride in the consolation round as they dropped a tough match (6-3, 5-7, 6-4) to Southern Methodist's Lindsay Bruce and Megan Russell.
Despite the losses, head coach Jay Louderback was not dissatisfied with his team's effort.
"I thought we played pretty well," Louderback said. "Unfortunately we were in a tough draw, but I thought we fought hard."
Dasso and Varnum qualified for the Rolex invite with their victory in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Region Doubles finals last fall, while Guy and Cunha were selected on the basis of their No. 15 national ranking.
The Irish women look to rebound when regular season play resumes Friday against the Terrapins of Maryland.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 8, 2000
