After starting the season 12-2, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team traveled down to Clemson, S.C., where it lost 1-4 to a strong Tigers squad. The team would then go winless for a full month; the streak finally snapped in Friday’s gutsy 4-3 home victory over Stanford. The Irish followed up with a 4-1 win against Berkeley, improving to 14-7 on the year and possibly salvaging the season.
Matchplay kicked off Friday evening, with senior Akari Matsuno and freshman Mari-Louise Van Zyl taking on the Stanford duo of junior Sein Myoung and sophomore Valerie Glozman on court 3. Matsuno and Van Zyl broke early and never looked back, winning 6-2 in the opener. Sophomore Bianca Molnar and senior Bojana Pozder finished shortly after, defeating freshman Monika Ekstrand and senior Caroline Driscoll 6-1. The No. 45-ranked pair had enjoyed a successful season so far and continued its dominant form in both weekend duels. Stanford’s freshman duo, Alyssa Ahn and Tianmei Wang, closed out the doubles play with an intense 6-4 win over freshman Gabriella Rawles and senior Rylie Hanford.
Notre Dame freshman Sophia Holod got off to a quick start in singles, racing past Myoung 6-3, 6-2. Fellow freshman Jessica Kovalcik extended the Irish lead, defeating senior Emma Sun 6-2, 6-3. No. 30-ranked Ekstrand put Stanford on the board, clinching a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 battle against No. 77 Molnar. Wang doubled down on Ekstrand’s win, defeating Hanford 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in another three-set nail-biter. After losing a first-set tiebreak, Caroline Driscoll roared back, beating Bojana Pozder 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 and leveling the match for the Cardinals. Matsuno was the hero of the day for Notre Dame, upsetting No. 34-ranked Alyssa Ahn 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the decider. This win gave the Irish their first dual win since Feb. 22.
Following the triumph over Stanford, the women’s team returned to court on Sunday for a battle against No. 19-ranked Berkeley. Things got off to a rocky start, with sophomore Naomi Xu and freshman Mille Johanna Moerk flying past Matsuno and Van Zyl 6-1. Molnar and Pozder quickly got things back on track, though, defeating Berkeley junior Mao Mushika and freshman Johanne Svendsen 6-3. Rawles and Hanford clinched the doubles point for the Irish, gritting out a 6-4 win over sophomore Sophie Hernandez and senior Berta Passola Folch.
Hanford got the singles matches rolling, defeating Moerk 6-2, 7-5 to double the Notre Dame lead. Mushika pulled one back for the Golden Bears, with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Pozder. Molnar had a stunning 7-5, 6-4 upset win over No. 16 ranked Svendsen, putting the Irish on the precipice of victory. Kovalcik took the team across the finish line, defeating Xu 7-5, 6-3.
Despite a lack of quality results in the past few weeks, this weekend proved that this year’s Irish team can compete with the best teams in NCAA tennis. Battling through a brutal ACC schedule has fostered resiliency within the squad, and the women proved that with the clutch 4-3 win over Stanford, which may have turned the season on its head.
Notre Dame heads to North Carolina next weekend, where it will take on Wake Forest and No. 9 NC State. Things are already looking up for the Irish, and two wins against quality opposition could put them in a prime position for a good seed and a deep run in April’s ACC Tournament. Matchplay begins April 3 at 4 p.m.
