When No. 13 Michigan came to South Bend, Notre Dame looked to find a way to upset the Wolverines (4-0) after winning its first three matches of the spring season.
The Irish came up short, however, and dropped a 6-1 non-conference decision to the Wolverines on Friday afternoon at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
In the singles competition, freshman Zoe Spence recorded the only Irish victory on the day (7-5, 6-3), defeating her opponent, freshman Chiara Lommer. The rest of the Irish players came close but could not grasp a victory in the end. Junior Allison Miller came up on the wrong end of a close 6-1, 7-6(1) decision, while freshman Bess Waldram fell by identical sets of 6-2, 6-2.
Junior Brooke Broda was defeated in straight sets (6-2, 6-3), while senior Jane Fennelly and sophomore Rachel Chong lost in almost identical ways. Both Chong and Fennelly won the first sets of their matches 6-1, before ultimately dropping the final two sets 6-1, 6-2.
In the doubles competition, the No. 2 pair of senior Mary Closs/Miller dropped a 6-2 decision to the Michigan squad of junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey. The No. 1 doubles pair of senior Monica Robinson/Broda fell 6-1 up against junior Mira Ruder-Hook and sophomore Brienne Minor. The No. 3 match with Fennelly/Waldram versus freshman Valeria Patiuk and junior Kara Hall was unfinished.
The Irish will be back in action Sunday, when they take on Illinois in a non-conference road matchup. And after that, another Big Ten opponent is on the horizon, as the Irish will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the Hoosiers in two weeks.
