Despite taking an early 3-0 lead against Northwestern Thursday, the Wildcats mounted a dramatic performance and stunned the No. 20 Irish with a 4-3 victory.
The Irish (11-9) struggled later in the match as the Wildcats gained momentum and won the last four singles points, securing the victory by just one point. It is the first time this season that the 12-5 Wildcats have managed to make a comeback after losing the doubles point.
No. 3 junior Kristy Frilling lost her second singles match of the season against No. 16 Maria Mosolova in three sets. Mosolova took control of the third set with four straight aces. This broke Mosolova's two-match losing record against
Frilling. Frilling's singles record now stands at 15-2.
Also in singles, No. 63 junior Shannon Mathews suffered a similar loss against No. 74 Belinda Niu, falling to Niu in the third set. Mathews is the most recent Big East player of the week. This loss brings her singles record to 14-3 on the year.
Meanwhile, No. 105 freshman Jennifer Kellner defeated No. 87 Kate Turvey, securing the first singles victory for the Irish. Kellner now holds a singles record of 16-3 and has won nine of her last ten matches.
Senior Kristen Rafael secured the only other singles win for the Irish against No. 50 Brittany Wowchuk.
In doubles action, the No. 22 pair of Mathews and Frilling defeated the Wildcats' No. 7 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton, gaining the second point for the Irish in this 8-3 upset.
The final doubles win for the Irish was gained by McGaffigan and Rafael, who defeated Mosolova and Belinda Niu 8-6. The pairing of McGaffigan and Rafael now has a record of 6-6.
To end doubles competition, the freshman pairing of Kellner and Julie Sabacinski fell to Wowchuk and Elena Chernyakova 8-3.
This match marks the 36th time the Irish have faced off against the Wildcats. Despite the loss, the Irish still lead in overall wins, 24-12.
The Irish are in action once more on April 17 against Marquette.
