The Notre Dame women’s tennis program closed out a busy January by hosting Navy, Ball State and Xavier at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. After starting out the season 3-1, the Irish doubled its total in the wins column, defeating Navy and Ball State 7-0 on Saturday, before tying a bow on the weekend with a 6-1 performance against Xavier. The women’s team only lost three matches over all three duels, continuing their dominant form since the start of the year.
Saturday matches kicked off at 11:00 a.m. against 4-1 Navy. Notre Dame freshman Gabriella Rawles and senior Rylie Hanford started off strong in the doubles department with a 6-2 win over Navy sophomore Grace Li and junior Julia Lee. Senior Akari Matsuno and freshman partner Jessica Kovalcik followed suit, defeating Navy sophomore Peyton Amspacher-Philemon and junior Anna Jordaan 6-3. Notre Dame duo of sophomore Bianca Molnar and freshman Sophia Holod closed things out with a 6-4 victory over freshman Nicole Fu and junior Olivia Fermo.
Kovalcik got things rolling in the singles department with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 win over Navy sophomore Molly Bellia. She was followed shortly by Rawles, who defeated Li 6-1, 6-1. Holod beat Fu 6-4, 6-1, while Molnar rolled past Fermo 6-2, 6-2. Notre Dame freshman Mari-Louise Van Zyl defeated Jordaan 6-2, 6-3, and Matsuno rounded out the singles matchplay with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Navy sophomore Emma Gu.
After a short break, the Irish faced Ball State in the Cardinals’ season opener. The doubles matches produced high level shot-making and stiff competition, headlined by a tense affair on court one between duo Rawles and Hanford opposite Ball State juniors Sarah Shahbaz and Isabel Tanjuatco. The Ball State duo ultimately came out on top with a 6-3 victory. However, Notre Dame did not let the disappointment linger for very long. Van Zyl and Matsuno struck back, defeating sophomore Alana Bristow and freshman Gabriella Barrera 6-4. Sophomore Esther Vyrlan and Holod clinched the doubles point for the Irish with an intense 6-3 win over seniors Sydney Hrehor and Asia Ting Fontana.
Notre Dame dominated singles matches in a similar fashion. Molnar held the fort at one singles, defeating Bristow 6-3, 6-1. Holod powered through Ball State freshman Priyanka Rana, winning 6-3, 6-3. Rawles followed, defeating Fontana 6-3, 6-1. Van Zyl cruised in her match, beating Barrera 6-1, 6-2, and Kovalcik won in straight sets against sophomore Jemima Williams-Phillips. In the final singles match of the duel, Hanford gutted out a three set win over Tanjuatco, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.
On Sunday afternoon, the Irish returned to court for a duel against Xavier. In doubles, Vyrlan and Kovalcik gave Notre Dame the lead with a gritty 7-5 victory over junior Ellie Brotherton and sophomore Natalie Smitek. Van Zyl and Matsuno secured the doubles point for the Irish, defeating freshman Ella DeFord and sophomore Madeleine Rexroat 6-1.
In singles, Molnar completed her weekend sweep at one singles. She hit senior Abby Nugent off the court on her way to a 6-1, 6-2 win. Hanford cruised 6-1 in her first set against Smitek, before grinding out a competitive 6-4 second set to double the Irish lead. Kovalcik defeated Xavier senior Abigail Siminski 6-1, 6-1, followed shortly after by Matsuno, who beat Rexroat 6-2, 6-2. It was smooth sailing all weekend for Holod, and she closed out her matches in a 6-2, 6-3 win over DeFord. Xavier sophomore Clara Owen ended things on a positive note for the Musketeers, beating Van Zyl in a grueling ten-point breaker, 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5).
The Notre Dame women’s team showed its class and professionalism in a hectic weekend, rattling off three potentially challenging matches with relative ease. Doubles play was fantastic across the board, and a couple of gutsy singles battles provided players with a chance to test their game ahead of Friday’s home clash against Purdue. Expect some captivating tennis in a Midwest battle. Matches begin Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m. EST.
