ND WOMEN'S TENNIS: Wisconsin badgers its way to a victory
By COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame women's tennis team saw its turbulent season come to an end last Saturday with a 4-2 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
The loss dropped the team's final record to 14-14, and while the .500 winning percentage may have been mediocre by Irish standards, their gritty performances in most matches this season were anything but average.
"I'm really proud of how hard this team has fought this year," Irish coach Jay Louderback said prior to the NCAA tourneys. "We've had some key injuries this season, but we've always played through them."
Indeed, the season started out on a disappointing note when starter Caylan Leslie saw herself sidelined for the year by shoulder problems. The injury robbed the team of its No. 4 singles player and forced freshman Sarah Jane Connelly into a starting role for the duration of the year.
Connelly handled the move in stride, and the team jumped out to a couple of early wins. Most notable among these early season performances was the team's 5-2 victory against top-ten opponent USC in the USTA National Team Indoors Championships.
Senior Nina Vaughan and sophomore Alicia Salas provided fuel for the victory by winning their doubles match and proceeding to score impressive singles wins against Luana Magnani and Tiffany Brymer.
Unfortunately for the Irish, that match would stand as the high-water mark of the season rather than an indication of things to come.
In their next three matches, all against top 10 opponents, the Irish were defeated convincingly by Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Tennessee. The lone bright spot during this stretch was Salas, who continued her torrid streak, winning her singles matches in all three of the contests and extending her winning streak to eleven.
At this point in the season, the Irish sat at 4-5 and were looking for a spark to turn things around. Seniors Becky Varnum, Lindsey Green and Vaughan provided that spark by stepping up their games and combining to go 13-2 in singles matches against the next five opponents.
Their performances were enough to ignite a six-match winning streak and turn around a season that looked to be on the brink of collapse.
However, the most difficult part of the schedule still loomed on the horizon with a three-match road stretch against top ten teams Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest.
At 10-5, the Irish may have found themselves looking ahead to those teams, as they dropped the ball in a couple of surprising losses to San Diego State and Purdue.
"I don't think we were looking ahead, we just didn't come prepared to play against those teams," Louderback said at the time.
After briefly righting the ship with a 4-3 win against Illinois, the team traveled to North Carolina for an Easter weekend showdown against its top opponents.
Louderback juggled the doubles lineups in hopes of increased doubles success and the move almost paid off. Even though the Irish lost the crucial doubles point, they stormed back in singles to tie the match 3-3 before the Demons' Karin Coetzee topped junior Katie Cunha in the deciding singles contest.
The Irish could not translate this close call into success later in the weekend, however. Both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils handed the Irish 6-1 losses.
A large home crowd and the emotional advantage allowed the Irish to score an important Big East victory against Miami only days later. The match was designated "Ace for the Cure," in honor of Cunha's mother who has been afflicted with colon cancer for almost a year.
As hundreds of fans came to support the event, Cunha fittingly won the clinching match to assure the team a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.
At the end of the regular season, the Irish had attained a 13-12 record and were setting their sights on the Big East Championships.
Under the intense sun in Coral Gables, Fla., the team easily disposed of Boston College before running into a brick wall against Miami. Aside from winning the doubles point, the team looked flat and failed to capture a singles match in the 4-1 loss.
Louderback suggested that the low 90s heat may have had a negative impact on the Irish players, but was quick to point out that Miami was a very tough opponent.
Seniors Varnum, Green and Vaughan played tough all season and withstood the pressure of playing in the 1-3 singles spots.
Moreover, the play of underclassmen gives hope for an improved showing next year. Salas' spectacular year saw her easily top 20 wins, while Cunha and Connelly proved capable of handling the pressure in tough match situations.
And the expected return of Leslie next season combined with a solid recruiting class makes the future pretty bright for the Irish.
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 17, 2002
