Irish improve to 14-3 by beating Miami, West Virginia
By STEVE KEPPEL
Sports Writer
Like many Notre Dame students, the women's tennis team traveled to Florida for spring break. But instead of partying and laying out on the beach, the seventh-ranked Irish were busy improving their record to 14-3 by defeating Miami and West Virginia.
On Saturday the Irish beat the 35th-ranked Hurricanes 6-1 and then blanked West Virginia 7-0 later that afternoon.
"The best match we played was Miami, we went 1-1 with them last year and this was our first outdoor match and we played really well," said head coach Jay Louderback.
The Irish swept the doubles against Miami with solid victories from Michelle Dasso/Becky Varnum, Katie Cunha/Kim Guy and Lindsey Green/Nina Vaughan who all won decisively.
The Irish then went on to win five singles matches in straight sets as Lindsay Green clinched the win with a victory over Miami's Katie Bogolomova 6-1, 6-2. The match was highlighted by the play of Varnum, 99th-ranked Nina Vaughan and All-American Michelle Dasso who won in doubles and singles despite battling an aching back.
"Everyone played well," said Louderback. "Becky Varnum has been playing better and better as the spring has gone along. She has really been stepping it up at the No. 3 spot and Nina Vaughan at three has played very well for us."
Later that afternoon the Irish showed that they are still the team to beat in the Big East by shutting out the Mountaineers without two of their top players. Dasso and Guy both rested because of nagging injuries.
Once again the Irish won the doubles point in easy fashion and then swept the singles matches. Cunha and freshman Alicia Salas showed a little of what is to come in the future as they filled in quite nicely, winning in straight sets.
"Michelle [Dasso] hurt her back before the Michigan match and Kimberly [Guy] had a little arm trouble so it gave us a chance to let them rest a little," said Louderback.
"Katie Cunha stepped in and played very well and Alicia Salas did also."
At 14-3 the Irish are playing the best they have in years and show no sign of slowing down. They have been ranked as high as fifth in the country and now sit at No. 7. They are gearing up to make a strong showing to end out the season. After a little trouble dealing with their demanding schedule and high ranking, the Irish have bounced back and are playing tougher than ever.
"This is probably better than we've ever been," said Louderback.
"Early on it [the rankings] effected us some because we hadn't really been ranked that high before," said Louderback, "but as the season has gone on we are pretty much used to it and have quit thinking about it."
The Irish will have their work cut out for them this weekend as they travel to Kentucky and Tennessee to take on the Wildcats and Volunteers who are both in the top 30.
"We have the talent and fire power to beat anyone in the country but we need to take each match one at a time and we can't take anyone for granted," Louderback said.
The road trip marks the second weekend in a row that the Irish are traveling and the team feels they need to stay focused and concentrate on every match.
"They are both very good teams who play very well at home," said Louderback.
"Kentucky and Tennessee are always a tough road trip but we've gotten used to playing a lot on the road."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, March 21, 2001
