Irish endure mixed results at All-American championships

Notre Dame sent two of its players to compete in the 2014 ITA All-American Championships this week in Pacific Palisades, California. Sophomore Monica Robinson and junior Quinn Gleason represented the Irish at one of the premier tournaments in college tennis.

“Something like this is huge for them to get to play,” Irish coach Jay Louderback said. “All the top players in the country are there. Just about every player there is top-50 in the country, which will certainly help them down the road.”

Robinson competed in the pre-qualifying rounds of the tournament Saturday, defeating Columbia sophomore Tina Jiang in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. She dropped a tight match later in the day to Texas Tech senior Kenna Kilgo, 6-3, 6-4.

“[Irish assistant coach] Catrina [Thompson, who traveled with the girls to California,] said she played very well in both matches,” Louderback said. “She felt like Monica just rushed things [and] got in a bit of a hurry. It was her first national college tournament.”

Robinson was selected to the tournament after a strong 2013-2014 campaign, amassing a 24-10 overall record at the fourth singles position while going 9-4 in ACC play.

Gleason’s tournament experience ended up very similar to Robinson’s. The junior competed in the qualifying draw and started slow in her match Tuesday against Boston College freshman Asiya Dair, being swept in the first set before rebounding to win the next two to take the match 0-6, 6-3, 6-2. However, that was where Gleason’s singles run came to an end as she dropped her next match to Vanderbilt junior Courtney Colton in another three-set grind later in the day, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

“Quinn played really well [Tuesday],” Louderback said. “She had two three-set singles matches and a doubles match that went to a tiebreaker so it was a long day for her. Probably the most tennis she’s played in a long time and Catrina [Thompson] thought she just finally wore out, but played really well.”

Gleason earned a spot in the field after compiling a 9-5 record in ACC play as part of a 21-10 overall record in 2013-2014, while holding down the No. 2 singles position.

The two athletes also paired up to play in the doubles portion of the tournament, where they were ousted in the first round by the Stanford duo of sophomore Caroline Doyle and senior Ellen Tsay, 6-2, 4-6 (10-4). The two bounced back Wednesday night in the consolation game when they beat the duo of freshman Rima Asatrian and junior Kanika Vaidya from Columbia, 6-2, 6-2, to end their tournament on a high note.

“They both played really well today,” Louderback said.

Quinn and Robinson rejoin the Irish and will next be action Oct. 16-21 at the Midwest Regional Tournament in Champaign, Illinois.