The Notre Dame women’s tennis team improved to 5-0 over the weekend with two 7-0 sweeps of Western Michigan and Butler on Saturday. The Irish have now swept four of their first five matches to start the season, protecting their home court at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Western Michigan
Notre Dame started fast in doubles play, as junior Rylie Hanford and senior Nibi Ghosh swept the No. 1 match before senior Maria Olivia Castedo and junior Bojana Pozder clinched the doubles sweep with a 6-1 win.
In singles, the Irish did not lose a set en route to their 7-0 victory. Ghosh (No. 3 singles) and Hanford (No. 5 singles) each cruised to 6-1, 6-0 victories. Senior Carrie Beckman’s 6-2, 6-2 win in No. 2 singles earned Notre Dame its fourth point, deciding the overall match. Castedo (6-4, 6-1), Pozder (6-4, 6-3) and freshman Bianca Molnar would finish out their victorious matches, getting the Irish to a 7-0 final score.
Butler
A few hours later, the Irish moved on to face Butler and found even sharper success. Beckman and Molnar teamed up for a No. 3 doubles sweep, setting the table for Hanford and Ghosh to gain the doubles point with a 6-2 win in the No. 1 match.
Notre Dame once again didn’t come close to losing a singles set, as Hanford again turned in a 6-0, 6-1 win to start in No. 3 singles. Beckman (6-1, 6-2) and Pozder (6-1, 6-1) followed with dominant wins in the No. 2 and No. 1 battles, clinching the team victory for the Irish. Molnar (6-3, 6-3), Castedo (6-1, 6-1) and senior Kate Bellia (6-3, 6-3) wrapped up the successful day of tennis with three more singles wins.
Through two weekends of play, Hanford still leads the Irish with a 5-0 record in singles play. Pozder improved to 4-0 on the season, while Bellia jumped to 3-0 and Ghosh to 2-0. Molnar’s win against Butler also marked the first singles victory of her collegiate career.
Over the next two weekends, Notre Dame’s unblemished records will begin to face some stronger challenges. The Irish will face Maryland, which has finished at least six games above .500 in three consecutive seasons, at 11 a.m. on Saturday. At the same time on Sunday, they’ll battle a Columbia team that went 17-5 last season. Both games will take place in New York City.
The following Friday, the Irish will host their first ranked opponent of the season, No. 18 Tennessee.
