Notre Dame Downs FIU In First Round Action Friday
May 9, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 2-seed University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team defeated No. 3-seed Florida International, 4-1, Friday night in first round action of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship at the University of Miami’s Neil Schiff Tennis Center. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The victory moves Notre Dame (22-8) into the tournament’s second round, where it will face top-seeded Miami (16-5) in the Coral Gables Regional final Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
Notre Dame got out to comfortable lead early on, winning the doubles point and the third and fourth singles spots to go up 3-0. FIU (13-10) got its first point of the night at No. 6 when Maria Spenceley beat Katie Potts, 6-2, 7-6 but Notre Dame’s No. 56 Kelcy Tefft’s come-from-behind 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 over Egle Petrauskaite sealed the win for the Irish.
Notre Dame had the early advantage after winning the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 2. The third-ranked team of Buck and Tefft made quick work of the No. 60 pair of Brito and Castillo, 8-1, at No. 1 before Ciobanu and Rielley beat Petrauskaite and Spenceley, 8-4, in the second spot.
After winning the doubles point, Notre Dame quickly went up 2-0 when Colleen Rielley downed Priscilla Castillo, 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth position. No. 103 Cosmina Ciobanu then took out Marijana Cutuk, 6-4, 6-4 to put Notre Dame within a point of the win.
The match, which was slated to start at 2 p.m., began at approximately 6:30 p.m. after a weather delay of just over six hours during doubles play of the Miami-Quinnipiac match earlier in the day.
The first-round win marks Notre Dame’s sixth straight in the NCAA Championship dating back to 2003.
Saturday’s regional final between Notre Dame and Miami pits two programs that used to meet regularly in Big East play before UM moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference against one another. UM won the last meeting with the Irish, picking up a 4-0 shutout victory in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament – the same season the Hurricanes reached the NCAA Championship Final. Notre Dame holds a 10-6 advantage over Miami all-time.
For live results of Saturday’s regional final, visit www.hurricanesports.com.
NCAA Coral Gables Regional First Round Results
No. 22 Notre Dame 4, No. 45 FIU 1
Singles
1. No. 56 Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Egle Petrauskaite (FIU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. No. 78 Brook Buck (ND) vs. No. 107 Liset Brito (FIU), DNF
3. No. 103 Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Marijana Cutuk (FIU), 6-4, 6-4
4. Colleen Rielley (ND) def. Priscilla Castillo (FIU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Kali Krisik (ND) vs. Maria Pazo (FIU), DNF
6. Maria Spenceley (FIU) def. Katie Potts (ND), 6-2, 7-6
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 1
Doubles
1. No. 3 Brook Buck/Kelcy Tefft (ND) No. 60 Liset Brito/Priscilla Castillo (FIU), 8-1
2. Cosmina Ciobanu/Colleen Rielley (ND) Egle Petrauskaite/Maria Spenceley (FIU), 8-4
3. Kali Krisik/Kristen Rafael (ND) vs. Maria Pazo/Maria Vallasciani (FIU), DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2
