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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame falls to pair of ranked ACC foes, prepares to hit road again

Notre Dame had a difficult weekend on the road, dropping matches at No. 4 Duke and No. 19 Wake Forest. The Irish were facing ranked opponents for the second-straight week but were unable to come up with a win this time around.

Competition started out Friday night in Durham, North Carolina, where the Blue Devils (14-1, 6-0 ACC) have yet to lose a match this season. Duke was too much for the Irish (10-6, 2-4) as it won 7-0, with dominant wins in doubles and singles competitions.

Duke won the first doubles match 6-1, and then clinched the doubles point with another 6-1 victory in the second doubles match. Duke senior Samantha Harris and freshman Kelly Chen — the fifth-ranked doubles pair in the nation — won the point-clinching match over Irish seniors Brooke Broda and Allison Miller.

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Kathyrne Robinson | The Observer
Irish senior Brooke Broda competes during a doubles match in Notre Dame’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 24 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.


The singles play followed the same pattern as the Blue Devils maintained an elite level of play throughout. Notre Dame fell in two sets in all but one match, between Irish freshman Ally Bojczuk and Duke junior Ellyse Hamlin. Hamlin — the 73rd-ranked singles player in the nation — won the first set 6-1, but Bojczuk came back in the second set with her own 6-1 win. Hamlin once again overcame the Irish freshman in the third, as Duke moved on to sweep the Irish after Hamlin’s 6-3 win in the third set.

The Irish hit the road again for a short 26-mile trip from Duke to Wake Forest (15-5, 4-3 ACC). Notre Dame started off the doubles matches by taking an early lead after the Demon Deacons forfeited one of their matches. Notre Dame’s duo of Broda and Miller was unable to clinch the doubles point, however, as they fell to the 31st-ranked doubles pair of junior Emma Davis and sophomore Chandler Carter. The doubles point would come down to the pair of freshman Cameron Corse and sophomore Zoe Spence, who rallied late in their match but came up short in a 7-5 loss.

Wake Forest would go on to control the singles matches despite giving up a forfeiture loss on one of the courts. The closest match for the Irish once again included Bojczuk, as she took on Wake Forest junior Joanna Zalewski in a 6-4, 3-6, 1-5 (10-5) decision favoring the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest won 6-1 overall.

Next up for Notre Dame is two more road ACC matches against No. 3 Georgia Tech on Friday and Clemson on Sunday.