The Irish capped off their regular season with a 4-3 loss against Florida State in the second round of the ACC tournament on Thursday in Cary, North Carolina.
The tenth-seeded Seminoles (16-11, 6-8 ACC), coming off a first-round victory over Pittsburgh, squeaked out the win against seventh-seeded Notre Dame (14-10, 8-6) in a closely-contested match.
The win gave the Seminoles revenge after a loss earlier in the season against Notre Dame; the Irish won the regular-season meeting 4-3 in Tallahassee, Florida, on March 20.
Notre Dame took an early lead by winning the doubles point.
After the Notre Dame tandem of junior Quinn Gleason and sophomore Monica Robinson cruised to victory over Seminoles senior Daneika Borthwick and junior Yukako Noi at No. 1 singles by an 8-2 margin, the Seminoles knotted up the doubles flights with a win at No. 2 singles, during which freshmen Emily Fanning and Gabriella Castaneda defeated Irish junior Julie Vrabel and freshman Allison Miller 8-4.
The point came down to the No. 3 doubles flight, where sophomores Jane Fennelly and Mary Closs gave the Irish an early lead, defeating Florida State seniors Mia Vriens and Kerrie Cartwright 8-4.
Florida State, however, bounced back and quickly took a 3-1 lead with a trio of quick two-set wins in the singles flights; Gleason, Vrabel and Fennelly all fell at Nos. 1, 3 and 6.
Robinson (6-4, 6-3) and Closs (7-5, 6-1), however, pulled out straight-set victories of their own at Nos. 2 and 4, to bring the match to a 3-3 tie.
The match came down to a tight match between Vriens and Miller on Court 5, which went to a long third set. Ultimately, Vriens pulled out the rubber match, and the win, for the Seminoles with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The Seminoles went on to knock out the second-seeded Miami in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals to sixth-seeded Georgia Tech. Virginia, who was seeded fourth, ultimately came away with the crown.
The Irish now turn their focus away from the ACC tournament and toward the NCAA title rounds, with regionals kicking off May 8. If they make it through the first two rounds, they will earn a spot in the Round of 16, which will take place May 14 in Waco, Texas.
