After a 12-2 start to the 2026 season, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team stumbled during a challenging road trip, losing 4-1 against No. 15-ranked Clemson and 0-4 against a fiery Georgia Tech team. Prior to these two away matches, the Irish were on a four-game home stretch, in which they went 3-1. Away losses to two quality teams shouldn’t have fans sounding the alarm just yet, but the team, currently 2-3 in ACC duels, will have their work cut out for them if they hope to make a run for the division title.
The women first made their way down to Duckworth Family Tennis Facility, South Carolina, to take on 11-3 Clemson. Notre Dame senior Rylie Hanford and freshman Gabriella Rawles kicked off doubles play, defeating Clemson sophomores Talia Neilson-Gatenby and Artemis Aslanisvili 6-2. No. 26 ranked duo senior Jade Groen and freshman Rinon Okuwaki responded for the Tigers, defeating No. 57- ranked sophomore Bianca Molnar and senior Bojana Pozder 6-3. The Irish took the doubles point after senior Akari Matsuno and freshman Mari-Louise Van Zyl beat sophomore Gaia Parravicini and senior Romana Cisovska 2-5, via retirement.
Despite falling in doubles, Clemson dominated the singles play, sweeping all six matches. Jade Groen put the Tigers on the scoreboard with a 6-2 6-1 upset over No. 46-ranked sophomore Bianca Molnar. Romana Cisovska gave Clemson the lead after beating Holod 6-3 6-2, followed shortly by Okuwaki, who defeated senior Akari Matsuno 7-6(5) 6-3. Neilson-Gatenb closed things out with a grueling 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over Hanford.
Two days later, the Irish were in Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Once again, Hanford and Rawles kicked things off with a bang, beating Taly Licht and Sabritt Dozier 6-3. Georgia Tech’s No. 52-ranked duo of Alejandra Cruz and Seri Nayuki responded with a swift 6-3 win over Matsuno and Holod. Given Roach and Eleni Karantali took home the doubles point for the Yellow Jackets, defeating senior Bojana Pozder and freshman Jessica Kovalcik 6-4.
Licht doubled the lead for Georgia Tech, beating Hanford 6-4 6-3 in the first singles match of the day. Roach edged out Holod in a contested 6-4 6-4 match, before Karantali completed the sweep against Van Zyl, 6-3 7-5.
Despite the rough weekend for the Irish, they still look strong across the board. The doubles lineup is performing at a high level, and looked very solid against a potential future top-10 Clemson squad. If Notre Dame can eliminate a few errors on the singles side, they should be primed for success in March and April. The weekend was a glimpse into the challenges of the few weeks, and the team must right the ship if they want to make a splash to end the season.
The Irish now have a two-week break before travelling to Chapel Hill for a showdown against No. 3-ranked UNC. Matchplay begins at 3 p.m. on March 13.
