Irish come back to upset No. 7
By STEVE KEPPEL
Sports Writer
The National Team Indoor Championships was a tournament of ups and downs for the Irish as they won decisively in the first round against Oklahoma State but lost to defending national champion Georgia in the quarterfinals and then came back and upset No.7 Pepperdine in a consolation match.
The match against Pepperdine was highlighted by Senior All-American Michelle Dasso as she defeated the No. 1 doubles team in the country with Becky Varnum and then went on to break the ND record for most singles wins with her 123rd victory coming against No. 14 Ipek Senoglu.
"Well, we had a good weekend," said coach Jay Louderback. "It's good for Michelle because she has been such a big part of the program and she wants to do well for the team."
The Irish women came to the National Indoors on a streak of five straight wins and hoped to advance past the quarterfinals after losing there last year. On Thursday the 11th ranked Irish took on 40th ranked Oklahoma State where they took four of six singles matches after getting the doubles point to get the 5-2 win. The 5th ranked duo of Michelle Dasso and Becky Varnum started off the tournament with an impressive victory over the 45th-ranked team of Ashleigh Dolman and Maria Phillips 8-1 at No. 1 doubles. That match was followed by victories from Cunha/Guy and Green/Vaughan to seal the doubles point.
Dasso also came out strong in singles tying the Notre Dame record with 122 victories in a solid win at the No. 1 spot. Oklahoma State rallied, however, winning the next two singles matches tying the score 2-2. The tie was broken by Freshman Caylan Leslie who won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4 singles and Becky Varnum then clinched the match with a straight set victory at No. 2 singles.
After winning in the first round two years in a row the Irish were set to take on 2nd ranked Georgia in the quarterfinals. The Irish who were looking for their first ever quarterfinal win at the Indoors got off to a difficult start by losing the No. 1 and No.3 doubles giving up the doubles point to the Bulldogs. Things didn't get much better for the Irish as they lost all but one of the singles matches to go down the defending national champions 5-1.
"We lost 5-1 but it was a lot closer than that," said Louderback. "If we had won the doubles point it would have made a big difference."
Lindsay Green was the only singles player to win for the Irish as Michelle Dasso' s match was abandoned after Georgia clinched the victory by defeating Becky Varnum, Nina Vaughan, Caylan Leslie, and Kimberly Guy.
"They've got a lot back from last year when they won the NCAA' s and they have been in pressure situations more than we have," Louderback said. "They have a lot more experience and they played better at the end of the matches than we did, but this match will help us in the future."
After struggling against a Georgia team that features four players in the top 100 in the country Notre Dame was pitted up against No. 7 Pepperdine in a consolation match. Despite the loss in the quarterfinals the Irish came out tough against Pepperdine immediately sending a message as Dasso and Varnum defeated the first-ranked doubles team of Senoglu and Paola Palencia 8-5. The win was followed by victories at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles by Cunha/Guy and Green/Vaughan that clinched the doubles point for the Irish. Establishing a 1-0 lead.
"That was a big doubles win, Michelle and Becky had faced them three times before and had never beaten them," said Louderback "She [Dasso] was sick all weekend and stilled played well."
After upsetting the nation' s top ranked doubles team Dasso beat 14th-ranked Ipek Senoglu 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles breaking the Notre Dame record for most singles victories set last year by Kelly Zalinsky. Following Michelle' s lead the rest of the Irish won four of the next five singles matches, giving them the 6-1 upset and improving their record to 7-2.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 19, 2001
