ND Women's Tennis: Irish host weekend pair
By: COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
The 18th-ranked Notre Dame women's tennis team will continue its tough schedule, playing host to eighth-ranked Tennessee and No. 51 Brigham Young this weekend at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Notre Dame and Tennessee will meet Saturday at 10 a.m., while the Irish and Cougars will face off Monday at 4 p.m. The match against the Volunteers will mark the third top-10 opponent faced by Notre Dame in the last four matches.
"I think our experience against top teams this early in the season will definitely help," said senior Lindsey Green. "The further we get into the season, the better we're going to play together."
The Irish will need everyone to be on top of their game against Tennessee, who is ranked eighth nationally after being listed sixth in the preseason rankings.
The Lady Vols are 4-3 in 2002 heading into their match at Michigan on Thursday. Tennessee's losses have all come to teams currently ranked in the top six in the nation.
The team boasts an impressive singles lineup consisting of All-American Alison Ojeda (16th in the nation), Vilmarie Castellvi (20th), Kim Gates (66th) and Agnes Wiski (77th).
Against such a formidable lineup, the Irish will need to fully utilize their singles depth, but the team believes it's only a matter of time before that happens.
"Everyone on this team is so good that they can play with anyone else," said Green. "It's only a matter of having everyone in a position where they feel comfortable."
The Irish and Lady Vols will meet for the 13th time and the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. Tennessee leads the series 8-4 and has won three of the last four meetings.
The Irish are 3-5 against the Lady Vols in the Jay Louderback era. Last year, Tennessee defeated Notre Dame 6-1 in Knoxville, Tenn. Notre Dame's only point came at No. 6 singles where Kimberly Guy gained a victory.
The Lady Vols returned their entire starting lineup for 2002.
The team's Sunday match against Brigham Young does not figure to be as difficult, but the Cougars are no slouch either.
BYU is currently ranked 51st, but a disappointing 1-4 start dropped them from their preseason position of 35.
The Irish and the Cougars will meet for the ninth time overall and the eighth in the last nine years. Notre Dame has won five of the previous eight meetings, including each of the last three. BYU won the initial meeting in 1991.
Notre Dame may have home court advantage on its side. This will mark only the second trip for the Cougars to Notre Dame. In the only other visit, BYU lost 9-0 in 1999.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 15, 2002
