Irish win important match against USC, fall in two others
By COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
When the Notre Dame women's tennis team headed to Madison, Wisc. to take part in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships last week, the team pinpointed its first round match-up against rival USC as the most important test of the tournament.
As it turned out, the team passed that test with flying colors, beating the Trojans by a convincing 5-2 score, but faltered against later opponents Vanderbilt and North Carolina, 5-2 and 6-1 respectively.
The Irish finished the tournament with a 1-2 mark that dropped their season record to a 4-4, but no one on the squad seems particularly apprehensive about the slow start.
"I think our team has played well so far this season," said head coach Jay Louderback. "We're not too concerned with our record at this point."
Part of the reason for that is the fact that three of the Irish losses have come against top-25 opponents. Vanderbilt boasted a No. 4 national ranking heading into the tournament and North Carolina looks solid at No. 16. Moreover, the Irish have proven to themselves that they can play with anyone in the nation, a notion that was only solidified by the their victory against USC.
Notre Dame opened tournament action on Thursday against the Trojans and quickly took a decisive advantage by earning the doubles point. A key victory 8-6 by Katie Cunha and Sarah Jane Connelly against the nation's No. 24 doubles squad of Anita Loyola and Launa Magnani clinched the point and provided key momentum heading into singles action.
With the No. 1, 3, and 5 spots playing first, Lindsey Green and Alicia Salas both cruised to easy victories to give the team a 3-1 advantage after two rounds of play.
Connelly clinched the win in the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 6, while Nina Vaughan added a 7-6, 6-3 upset of USC's Magnani as icing on the cake.
The upset win proved to be revenge for the pre-season match-up between the two teams in which the Trojans beat the Irish by the same score of 5-2.
For his part, Louderback was thrilled by the team's performance against their California rival.
"Beating SC was a great win," he said. "It was really nice to see us play so well."
Unfortunately, neither Friday's nor Saturday's competitions would be so successful. In both showings against the Commodores and Tar Heels, the Irish lost the doubles point and were unable to recover enough ground in singles.
In the team's 5-2 loss to Vandy, only Green and Salas prevented a complete shutout by earning singles victories. And Salas earned the team's only point against Carolina with another gutsy singles showing.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Louderback still feels that the team played well over the weekend, especially against Vanderbilt (who eventually advanced to the finals).
"The score didn't show it, but I think we played well against a great team," said Louderback. "If we could have taken the doubles point, that match would have been a lot different."
As for Salas, who improves her singles record to 11-0 on the year, Louderback was especially impressed.
"She's done so well for us at the number five spot, but I think she'll be moving up for us at some point during the year," he said.
Such a move could prove to be a huge help to a team whose struggles have stemmed in part from a lack of comfort with playing position.
"All of our players have to get used to playing up a couple of spots in the lineup," said Louderback. "I think once we get that straightened out, we'll be an even better team."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 12, 2002
