Michigan
Notre Dame
Wolverines Blanked on the Road at No. 21 Notre Dame
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The No. 20 University of Michigan women's tennis team dropped its second straight dual match Wednesday (Jan. 26), falling 7-0 to No. 21 Notre Dame at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. After being swept in doubles, the Wolverines (1-2) were unable to win a one set in six singles matches. It was U-M's second loss to a top-25 ranked opponent in five days.
In a battle of two of the nation's premier doubles teams, Notre Dame's No. 2-ranked tandem of Catrina and Christian Thompson outlasted Michigan's No. 15-ranked pair of senior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) by an 8-5 score at No. 1 to clinch the first team point for the Fighting Irish.
With the doubles point in hand, Notre Dame claimed straight-set victories at No. 6 and No. 4 to come within one win of taking the match. Kristina Stastny provided the clincher at No. 5, defeating junior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) 7-5, 6-0. The Irish completed the overall sweep with wins at the final three matches remaining on the courts.
The Wolverines will look to get back on track when they host Alabama this Saturday (Jan. 29) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The match with the 32nd-ranked Crimson Tide will begin at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #69 Catrina Thompson (UND) d. #44 Michelle DaCosta, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 -- #85 Brook Buck (UND) d. #95 Elizabeth Exon, 6-4, 7-6(2)
No. 3 -- Christian Thompson (UND) d. Kara Delicata, 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 -- Lauren Connelly (UND) d. Leanne Rutherford, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Kristina Stastny (UND) d. Nina Yaftali, 7-5, 6-0
No. 6 -- Liz Donohue (UND) d. Debra Streifler, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #2 C. Thompson/C. Thompson (UND) d. #15 DaCosta/Delicata, 8-5
No. 2 -- Buck/L. Connelly (UND) d. Rutherford/Streifler, 8-2
No. 3 -- Sarah Jane Connelly/Stastny (UND) d. Exon/Yaftali, 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 6-4-5-3-1-2
N O T E S
The Wolverines fall to 8-15 all-time against Notre Dame and 0-2 against nationally ranked opponents this season.
Michigan's last regular-season shutout loss came during the 2003 season at then No. 6-ranked Duke (Feb. 28).
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
