In a battle between two of the nation's top programs, No. 2 Notre Dame (19-1) managed to pull out a close 4-3 decision over No. 9 Northwestern on Wednesday at the Courtney Tennis Center.
"It was a really big win and we needed a big confidence booster going into the next couple of matches and the Big East [Tournament]," Irish freshman Katie Potts said. "We all knew we had the potential [to have a great season] and are hoping to keep it up until the NCAA [Tournament]."
In doubles, the Irish trailed early but won two of three matches to get out to a 1-0 lead in the match. The No. 4 duo of juniors Christian and Catrina Thompson downed the Wildcats' Feriel Esseghir and Alexis Prousis 8-4 at No. 1.
"We were down early in the doubles point because we are used to them being aggressive and coming to the net, but today they were staying back and lobbing the ball more," Catrina Thompson said. "So we were the ones who had to be aggressive in order to get the win."
The second win came from Notre Dame seniors Lauren Connelly and Kiki Stastny over Northwestern's Nazlie Ghazal and Jamie Peisel 8-5 at No. 3. The twosome now stands at 18-1 in dual action this season.
The only loss in doubles came from the No. 39 duo of Notre Dame sophomore Brook Buck and freshman Kelcy Teftt.
The Irish pairing was defeated by Alexis Conill and Georgia Rose 8-5 at No.2.
In singles, the Irish found wins from Nos. 3, 4 and 5 to secure the victory early on.
The most impressive win came from Buck, who upset No. 24 Alexis Prousis 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3. Her win was followed Tefft at No. 4 over Jamie Peisel 6-3, 6-1. Tefft now holds a 14-4 record in duals matches. The final win came from Stastny at No. 5 who downed Esseghir 6-3, 6-0.
The three losses came from the Irish's only two players ranked in singles. No. 30 Catrina Thompson lost to No. 8 Grier 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1. No. 73 Christian Thompson also failed to pull off the upset over No. 44 Rose 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8).
The final loss came from Potts who was defeated by Nazlie Ghazal 6-3, 6-2.
Despite the close win, Potts said the victory was not as emotional as other 4-3 contests in the past. The Irish were able to secure the victory early by winning the first four points in the match.
"It was a hard fought match, but we jumped out in front 4-0 and it didn't come down to one final match," Potts said. "So emotionally it was a lot easier than some of the other matches."
The Irish take on DePaul Friday at 3:30 at the Courtney Tennis Center.
