Upperclassmen lead Irish at championship
By BRIAN KESSLER
Assistant Sports Editor
CORAL GABLES, Fla.
Senior captain Kelly Zalinski threw her water bottle against the fence in disgust and walked hurriedly past her father without muttering a word.
She and her partner Lindsey Green just dropped their No. 2 doubles match to Miami, sealing Notre Dame's fate as runner-ups in the Big East Championship.
"It's disappointing to lose at Big East since we all thought we definitely would win," Zalinski said. "But NCAA's are a lot bigger and we have a chance to go far there."
Despite the doubles loss, it was Zalinski who helped carry the team during the championships and throughout the season.
She had posted a school record 117 singles victories entering the championships and added three wins more over the weekend.
Zalinski's father, her biggest supporter, was there during the highs and lows of the weekend, cheering on his daughter from behind his video camera.
"He's my biggest fan," Zalinski said. "He's there watching every point with his video camera and loud cheers. I love when he watches. He pumps me up and the rest of the team."
Zalinski won all three matches in straight sets and only lost eight games.
She breezed through her quarterfinal and semifinal matches, knocking off Rutgers' Carissa Sommerlad 6-1, 6-2 and making quick work of Seton Hall's Kyli LaSalle 6-0, 6-1.
In the finals, Zalinski was rattled after a disputed call at 1-1 in the first set and she soon found herself trailing Miami's Katia Bogomolova, 4-2. The senior, however, refocused, like she has so many times in her career, and rallied to win the next 10 games.
Despite the amazing 6-4, 6-0 win, Zalinski kept it all in perspective.
"I'm happy with how I played and that I got the win at singles, but the team wins and loses together," Zalinski said. "It was disappointing not to win the title."
Zalinski always makes sure her personal goals are secondary to the team's.
What else would you expect from the senior leader.
"Being the captain is a big responsibility," Zalinski said. "But the job is a lot easier because everyone on the team is dedicated, focused and willing to work toward our goals. It's been really neat. I've never been on a team like this."
Michelle Dasso is one of those team members that learned a lot from Zalinski.
The junior All-American, who is ranked 16th in the nation in singles, has helped Zalinski with the leadership role this season. According to Dasso, she learned from the best.
"This year I knew I would have to take on that role," Dasso said. "The coaches talked to me before the season, but it comes with being an upperclassmen. There have been great leaders before me and Kelly is a great captain. So you can't really ask for more than that."
Dasso won all three of her matches at No. 1 singles in straight sets and was named the championship's Most Outstanding Performer.
"That's the way she's been all year," Louderback said. "She played so well and she really competed. When she plays like that, she's hard to beat. She struggled a little in the fall, but she's played really well this spring. This week was no exception."
Dasso, however, would easily swap the individual accolade for a team title.
"I would trade it in a second for the team championship," Dasso said. "I've never gotten an award like that so I was happy, but losing [the title] took the fun out of it."
Dasso, who had just one victory entering the championships, learned a lot from her previous trips to Miami.
Last year, she battled heat exhaustion and a tough crowd, only to see her matches abandoned when the Irish clinched the victories.
"Playing in Miami is hard to do," Dasso said. "I've really learned a lot from the past two years. It's hot and the fans are brutal. The pressure was on us since we beat them the week before at home. Everyone just had an off day. I think on any given day we would beat them. It's disappointing, but I'm happy that it happened at Big East and not at NCAA's."
If the younger Irish players learn from their experiences in Miami like Dasso and Zalinski have in the past, Notre Dame will be a formidable opponent next April.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, April 26, 2000
