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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Observer

Irish find success in singles and doubles

Notre Dame found success at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships — which were held Oct. 13 through 16 — in both doubles and singles tournaments.

Freshman Caroline Dunleavy advanced to the event quarterfinals before dropping a close match to Illinois freshman Emilee Duong. Dunleavy was the last member of the Irish roster alive in the tournament coming into Monday. Notre Dame, however, also had two doubles teams in the quarterfinals Sunday. Irish head coach Jay Louderback praised the success of the team in the competition held in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Irish senior Allison Miller readies to hit a forehand during Notre Dame's 5-2 win over Purdue on Feb. 22 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Irish senior Allison Miller readies to hit a forehand during Notre Dame's 5-2 win over Purdue on Feb. 22 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Irish senior Allison Miller readies to hit a forehand during Notre Dame's 5-2 win over Purdue on Feb. 22 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.


“I felt like we played very well. We’ve been working hard on our doubles this fall,” Louderback said. “I felt like our doubles — we had two doubles teams in the quarterfinals — both played well and lost tight matches in the quarters, which was a really good result for us. Also, in the singles, we had three in the round of 16 and one of our freshman in the quarterfinals.

“All of the matches we lost in the round of 16. The two we lost were tight matches, so I felt like we played really well, and it was good for our freshmen to get a chance to see a lot of the teams in the region. We played one tournament earlier but this was a pretty big tournament because it’s qualifying for the fall Nationals, so there’s a little bit more pressure in this one. It’s good for our freshmen to get to play in a tournament where there’s a little bit more pressure.”

Seniors Brooke Broda and Allison Miller lost in the doubles quarterfinals to Northwestern junior Lee Or and senior Alex Chatt with a scorecard of 8-7 (2). On that same day, freshman Cameron Corse and sophomore Zoe Spence lost to Ohio State redshirt freshmen Shori Fukuda and Maria Tyrina in a match that ended 8-6. Miller and Corse also competed in the singles round of 16 on that same day, with Miller losing to Northwestern redshirt junior Rheeya Doshi in three sets at 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 and Corse losing to Illinois freshman Asuka Kawai, 6-3, 7-5. The third Notre Dame player to make it to the round of 16 in singles competition was junior Rachel Chong who lost to Dunleavy — her own teammate — by a 7-6, 6-2 scorecard.

Louderback pointed out that the Irish have improved significantly in doubles competitions also, crediting the work of newly incorporated assistant coach Michelle Dasso for the success of the doubles performance.

“The best for us, and most improved from over a year ago, is our doubles play,” Louderback said. “I felt like that’s gotten much, much better and our [athletes] have played pretty great in the doubles. I think that’s something that’s made a big difference in how we’ve played. We have a new assistant this year, Michelle Dasso, who’s been working really hard with [the team] on the doubles. It’s really pushed the aggressive play out of [the team] and it’s something [the team] has taken to and made a big difference.”

The Irish go back to competition the weekend of Nov. 2. The team will separate and compete in the Arizona State Invitational, Western Michigan Invitational and, if any players are chosen, the ITA National Fall Championships.