After defeating Pittsburgh 4-0 in the first round of the ACC tournament Wednesday, the 10th-seeded Irish fell to seventh-seeded Clemson by the same margin in the second round Thursday.
Against Pittsburgh (3-16, 0-14 ACC), the Irish (17-9, 7-7 ACC) went undefeated in doubles to secure the point. The duo of seniors Mary Closs and Monica Robinson won their match 6-4, junior Allison Miller and Brooke Broda took down their opponents 6-3 and senior Jane Fennelly and freshman Zoe Spence’s match went unfinished once the other two matches had ended.
In the singles portion of the match, Notre Dame’s victorious streak continued. Sophomore Rachel Chong won her match 6-3, 6-4, while Closs came out on top 6-2, 6-3. Broda won her first set easily, 6-1, before ultimately taking a closer second set, 7-5.
The other three singles matches — those of Robinson, Miller and Spence — went unfinished once the Notre Dame victory had been clinched.
Thursday was a very different story for the Irish, who failed to secure a single point against the Tigers (13-11, 7-7 ACC). It was the second loss to Clemson in three days for the Irish, who fell 6-1 in the final match of their regular season on the Tigers' home turf.
At the ACCs, the Tigers took the singles point, as the pairs of Fennelly and Spence fell 6-1 while Closs and Robinson lost their match 6-4. The Broda and Miller pair were knotted at four games apiece when their match was discontinued.
In the singles competition, Miller lost her match 6-4, 6-1. Spence fell as well, going 6-4, 6-2. Closs also failed to win a set, losing 6-2, 6-1. Broda and Robinson were each leading their matches by a set when they were discontinued, while Chong was down by one.
With the loss to Clemson, Notre Dame’s ACC tournament run in Rome, Georgia, came to an close. Clemson ended up losing the following day to second-seed Duke. On the tournament's final day on Sunday, top seed North Carolina, ranked No. 5 in the nation, defeated No. 8 Georgia Tech to take home its second consecutive ACC trophy.
The Irish must now wait to find out their fate, as the NCAA tournament selection show takes place Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
