The No. 5 Irish proved their strength and depth as a top-five program after shutting out the No. 27 Hoosiers 7-0 Tuesday - their seventh consecutive victory against a top-30 team. The win also ties the program with its best start - at 10 wins - since becoming a Division 1 program in 1985-86.
Notre Dame (10-0) began the contest by claiming its 10th consecutive doubles point this season.
"It's amazing that we are all playing so well and confidently," senior Kiki Stastny said. "We're just clicking right now ... it's just been so much fun for all of us."
The first Irish match finished was was the No. 29 pairing of sophomore Brook Buck and freshman Kelcy Tefft with an 8-4 triumph over the Hoosiers' Brianna Williams and Sigrid Fischer at No. 2. The Irish twosome is 9-1 this season after last weekend's loss to Wisconsin's Caitlin Burke and Nicole Beck.
The next finished was Notre Dame's No. 49 senior duo of Stastny and captain Lauren Connelly, who beat Indiana's Cecile Perton and Alba Berdala Caitlin 8-2 at No. 2 and secured the doubles points.
The Irish completed the sweep when the nationally ranked No. 2 pairing of juniors Catrina and Christian Thompson defeated Sarah Batty and Laura McGaffigan 8-4. The victory marked the return of Catrina Thompson after being sidelined against Wisconsin Sunday due to a wrist injury.
"[Catrina Thompson] is so mentally tough that she's able to play through anything," Stastny said. "She's able to keep distractions away and focus on what needs to be done. I'm so proud of her because she is a true fighter."
Sophomore Bailey Louderback said she looks forward to seeing just how successful the team will be later in the season in doubles.
"We are so deep in doubles that I don't see us losing all season," Louderback said. "But we are not going to look past any teams."
In singles, No. 28 Catrina Thomspon recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Batty at No. 1. The win improved Thompson's record to 14-6 on the season.
No. 2 Christian Thompson topped McGaffigan 6-3, 6-1, then No. 3 Buck recorded a 6-1, 6-0 win over Williams and now stands at 12-6 on the season.
Tefft continued the trend with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 over Berdala, a freshman from Spain.
The win at No. 5 came from an intense third set tiebreaker from Stastny, who rallied back after being down one set in the match. This marks the second consecutive third set tiebreaker the senior has won after defeating Wisconsin's Elizabeth Carpenter 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9) Sunday.
"[Third set tiebreakers] are challenging, but I feel so confident going into them," Stastny said. "I've had a pretty good record [this season] when playing them."
Freshman Katie Potts completed the sweep for the Irish with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Hoosiers' Perton.
The Irish return to play Sunday, facing Illinois at the Eck Tennis Pavilion at 11 a.m.
