Off to a 5-0 start, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team will hit the road for the first time this weekend. The Irish will take on Maryland at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Columbia at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday — both games being played in New York City.
Last weekend, Notre Dame played near-perfect tennis at home on Saturday, sweeping both Western Michigan and Butler by 7-0 scores. Junior Rylie Hanford continued her excellent start, improving to 5-0 in singles play. Fellow junior Bojana Pozder has shined as well, playing to a 4-0 record as Notre Dame’s No. 1 singles player.
Overall, the Irish have outscored their five opponents by a 26-2 margin to open the spring season.
Opponent preview: Maryland
Maryland started its season last weekend with a tough draw at No. 12 Texas. The Longhorns handed the Terrapins a 4-0 loss Friday, but Maryland bounced back a day later with a 4-2 defeat of BYU in Austin. Facing Columbia on Friday before battling the Irish on Saturday, the Terrapins won’t play their home opener until a Feb. 8 doubleheader against Howard and Morgan State.
After a disappointing end to the 2010s – headlined by a 3-16 record in the 2020-21 season – Maryland has risen back up nicely. The Terrapins have finished at least six games above .500 in each of the last three seasons, going 16-10 a year ago.
Heading into this season, the Terrapins did not return either of their two All-Big Ten selections from 2024. Senior Marylander Kallista Liu, who will challenge the unbeaten Pozder in No. 1 singles, ranking No. 88 nationally among singles players. She owns a 67-19 career record in singles matches and did not finish either of her contests last weekend.
On the doubles court, Liu combines with graduate transfer Danielle Hack to form the 72nd-ranked pairing in the nation. A native of England and a transfer from Massachusetts, Hack compiled a decorated career in Amherst. She departed for Maryland as a three-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference player, finishing last year as the A-10 Most Outstanding Performer of the Year and the ITA Senior Player of the Year for the New England region.
Liu and Hack were not together last week, though, with Liu competing in No. 1 doubles and Hack in the No. 2 matches.
Opponent preview: Columbia
Columbia also comes in at 1-1 and has familiarity with the blue and gold dating back to the Notre Dame Invitational in early October. The Lions have faced Florida Gulf Coast and No. 23 UCF so far in 2025, claiming a 4-0 win and more recently taking a 4-2 loss. Their matchup with the Irish will follow a home doubleheader against Maryland and Hofstra on Friday.
Under longtime head coach Ilene Weintraub, the Lions had their best season in program history last year at 17-5 overall and 5-2 within Ivy League play. Columbia opened the year at 9-1 and captured the ECAC Tournament in mid-February. The Lions also finished with five All-Ivy League performers, bringing back four of them for this season.
Fatima Keita, a senior for Romania, was Columbia’s lone All-Ivy selection in singles last year. Though she’ll be searching for her first individual win of the year in No. 1 singles this weekend, she’s off to a 2-0 start with Malak El Allami in No. 1 doubles. Sophia Wang, Gayathri Krishnan and Sophia Strugnell have all returned as All-Ivy doubles players, with Krishnan and Strugnell teamed up with a 2-0 start in No. 2 doubles thus far.
