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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame nets positive results over break

Last weekend, Notre Dame team took to the road to compete in the ITA Midwest regional championships held at Michigan State.

Some Irish highlights from the singles competition included senior Monica Robinson making it to the quarterfinals and junior Brooke Broda making it to the round of 16. Allison Miller also had a notable performance on the singles side, losing a close match to the No. 11 seed, Michigan sophomore Brienne Minor, in the round of 16.

Irish senior Monica Robinson steps into a forehand during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Indiana on Feb. 20 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Irish senior Monica Robinson steps into a forehand during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Indiana on Feb. 20 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Irish senior Monica Robinson steps into a forehand during Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Indiana on Feb. 20 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.


On the doubles side, the doubles team of Robinson and Broda made it all the way to the finals of competition, eventually losing to Michigan duo sophomore Kate Fahey and junior Alex Najarian.

Irish head coach Jay Louderback said he felt the team had a strong tournament.

“We were seeded five to eight,” Louderback said. “We actually beat the No. 4 team in the country in the semifinals. So we had a really good tournament. I felt really good about the results.

“I just felt like our results were very good for the middle of the fall. That was a positive for us.”

The nature of the fall season for the Irish is all about preparing for the spring, and the team’s focus right now, according to Louderback, is about playing well and getting in good matches before competition picks up during the regular season.

“Right now, I think the big thing is just playing,” Louderback said. “I think we’ve gotten to play a few matches this fall while preparing for the spring. We’ve got two more weeks left in the fall and just getting to play these tournaments and matches is important. Our biggest thing is to get our kids matched up to be ready for the spring season.”

The Irish also had athletes competing in another tournament in Bloomington, Indiana, the IU Regional, where the results were equally as pleasing to Louderback.

“One of our freshmen, Bess Waldram, had a really good tournament,” Louderback said. “She played doubles with [senior] Jane Fennelly and they won the doubles competition down there. We felt like our results at those tournaments were good.”

Fennelly and Waldram defeated the Indiana team of sophomores Caitlin Bernard and Natalie Whalen in the finals by a score of 8-7.

Looking ahead, the Irish now prepare to play at home in the Notre Dame Invitational on Nov. 4-6 against Denver and Kansas.

“It works out having two teams, Denver and Kansas, that we don’t see very often coming into here,” Louderback said. “So we’re going to be able to play against some of their players that are a little different than the ones in our region.”

With the overall goal of the fall season being preparation for the spring, the Irish are trying to take advantage of all the competition they can.