Singles play assures Notre Dame victory over Purdue
By KEVIN BERCHOU
Sports Writer
On paper it looked like a mismatch. On the court it was.
The 14th-ranked Notre Dame women's tennis team continued its impressive play on Wednesday with a 9-0 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers.
The only thing that made the afternoon somewhat difficult for the Irish was the West Lafayette weather. Playing in their first outdoor match of the season, Notre Dame was forced to brave unseasonably cold temperatures and brutal winds as it attempted to pound Purdue.
"It was really freezing out there," sophomore Becky Varnum noted. "Our coaches pulled us aside though and told us not to worry about it and just go out and play our games."
The weather, evidently, was not much of a factor. For the Irish, the match went exactly according to plan. Junior Michelle Dasso was tested, just as she thought she would be. In her No. 1 singles match against Purdue's Jennifer Embry, the Irish junior won a close one in three sets. From there, Notre Dame put it on cruise control as they raced home to their 16th win of the season against just five defeats.
Varnum whipped Shannon Taheny in No. 2 singles, while Kelly Zalinski, Nina Vaughan, Lindsey Green and Katie Cunha all netted impressive victories.
"We started strong up top, and just played strong right on through," Varnum noted.
With winds whipping all over the outdoor courts, the Irish breezed through doubles play as well. Though the match was already clinched heading into pairs play, the Irish used the possibility that they might improve in doubles as motivation to keep fighting.
Dasso and Varnum notched an impressive upset victory over Purdue's 20th-ranked doubles tandem of Embry and Taheny by a score of 8-2. The couplings of Green and Zalinki and Cunha and Vaughan also played well in gaining easy decisions.
The Dasso-Varnum effort was significant in that it demonstrated Notre Dame doubles' reloading efforts. After some sizzling early season doubles play, the Irish had fallen off lately when facing quality opponents in the pairs format. The Dasso-Varnum win indicates that the Irish may have recaptured their early season form.
The win over Purdue was crucial, for it allows Notre Dame to enter its much anticipated match against national power William and Mary with momentum.
On paper, that match is shaping up to be as close as they come.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 6, 2000
