Notre Dame spent the weekend in North Carolina, traveling to Chapel Hill and Raleigh to take on No. 1 North Carolina and No. 11 North Carolina State. It was a difficult weekend for the Irish (8-5, 2-3 ACC), losing 6-1 and 5-2, respectively, to fall to 2-3 in ACC play.
On Friday, junior Zoe Spence took the team’s only win, taking down UNC’s No. 6 junior Sara Daavettila 6-4, 6-4. UNC’s lineup boasts three of the top-six singles players in the country, forcing Spence to take on a top-10 opponent out of the two-spot. She stepped up to the challenge, but no other Irish players were able to secure points for the team against the Tar Heels (16-1, 4-0).
Out of the top spot, sophomore Ally Bojczuk struggled in her singles match against No. 2 junior Makenna Jones, taking a 6-1, 6-1 loss. In doubles, Bojczuk combined with freshman Zoe Taylor to take a 6-3 win against UNC’s sophomore Alle Sanford and Daavettilla. It was a challenging day for the Irish against quality competition.
The Irish were back at it on Sunday against NC State, but again found it difficult to travel to top ACC competition. The Wolfpack (12-3, 4-1) features three players ranked in the top-100 nationally, all of whom were able to win their singles matches. The sole Irish singles winner was Taylor, taking a 6-1, 6-7, 1-0 decision from NC State senior Amanda Rebol.
One positive for the Irish was their success on the doubles courts. The Taylor-Bojczuk pairing brought home its second win of the weekend, while junior Bess Waldram and sophomore Cameron Corse took a 7-6 win against NC State sophomore Liz Norman and senior Bianca Moldovan. The Irish were 3-3 on the weekend in doubles, something they can look to build on as they try to improve their ACC record.
Notre Dame will look to get back on track next Friday against Louisville. The Cardinals are also 2-3 in ACC play, with their league wins coming over Clemson and Pitt, just like the Irish. The match will take place at home for the Irish and will begin at 3:30 p.m. The Irish will look to continue to get strong production from their younger players and hope to also earn contributions from the entire roster against the Cardinals.
