In a bit of déjà vu, Notre Dame faces No. 4 Baylor for the second time this season, having defeated the Bears 4-3 in the National Indoor quarterfinals.
Back in mid-February, Notre Dame (16-2) felt disrespected by its No. 14 ranking, and set to prove the skeptics wrong. Now, No. 2 Notre Dame aims to hold onto its elite status, while, still at No. 4, Baylor (12-4) still hopes to move up a few more spots in the rankings.
"We had such a tight match [in February], I am sure they are looking to beat us this time around," coach Jay Louderback said. "It should be another close one tomorrow."
But not only the Baylor team is looking for revenge today. In the match in February, the top Irish doubles duo of senior Kelcy Tefft and freshmen Kristy Frilling suffered one of only two losses this season. The Baylor duo of Lenka Broosova and Csilla Borsanyi defeated Tefft and Frilling 8-0.
This time around, the match could hinge on that result.
"It will be 4-3 again. The key will be the doubles point," Louderback said. "Our one team is definitely looking forward to playing them again. They remember that one for sure."
Notre Dame can count among its advantages the fact that the match will likely be held indoors. Baylor has not played much indoors lately, nor have they played on the road in any of their last six matches, going 6-0 at home.
Both teams look to get a strong non-conference win late in the year to prepare for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
"Today the big thing is competing well. I know we are matched up and ready to play," he said. "We just have to compete well at every position."
The match begins at 4:30 p.m. today at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
