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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Irish record sweep over Eastern Illinois

Notre Dame won its second match of the season 7-0 over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.

The Irish had not played the Panthers (0-5) since 1982, but left the match with their second 7-0 win of the season. Irish head coach Jay Louderback said the matchup brought out Notre Dame’s intensity, which will benefit it in future matches.

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Observer File Photo
Irish sophomore Zoe Spence prepares to return the ball during Notre Dame's 5-2 win over Purdue on Feb. 22 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.

“I felt like their girls in doubles team played well and it was good for us,” Louderback said. “We didn’t win the match, we lost at number one doubles, but it was good for our one team to be in a tight match like that. We have Ohio State next week, so even though we didn’t win that, it was a tight match that we needed to be in. Other than that I felt like our kids played with a lot of intensity today and we have a couple of tough [matches] on the road coming up. We felt like we wanted to show the intensity today and we did.”

Within the doubles matches, freshman Ally Bojczuk and junior Rachel Chong had a 6-1 win over Eastern Illinois sophomore Emily Pugachevsky and junior Srishti Slaria, and Irish freshman Cameron Corse and sophomore Zoe Spence won 6-0 over freshmen Rachel Papavailopoulos and Karla Contreras. The No. 1 doubles team that includes seniors Brooke Broda and Allison Miller lost 6-4 to senior Grace Summers and sophomore Stella Cliffe.

As for singles, Notre Dame rolled through singles and won all six sets. Freshman Caroline Dunleavy defeated Pugachevsky 6-0, 6-0, and Corse also swept a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Contreras. Spence clinched the win with her 6-0, 6-2 victory over Summers. Miller had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Cliffe and Broda ended up with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Papavasilopoulos. Chong wrapped up the singles with a 6-3, 6-3 against Slaria.

Louderback said he was pleased with her team’s performance, especially Corse’s persistence in her singles match.

“She just rolled,” Louderback said. “She played very well and she didn’t give up any points. She was very aggressive and served well. The way she played was very good. Going into that match, her opponent was solid in the doubles, so we thought it would be a tight match. She just played aggressive and rolled through it.”

With two straight wins at home, Notre Dame will travel to No. 14 Ohio State next weekend to battle the Buckeyes (1-1).

“They are ranked No. [14],” Louderback said. “We lost to them last year in the second round of the NCAAs at OSU. We ended up losing 4-1 or 4-0, but it was a tight match and we feel that it will be a good matchup.”

The Irish will face off against the Buckeyes at Ohio State’s Varsity Tennis Center, their first away match of 2018, beginning Sunday at noon.