After taking the weekend before spring break off, the Irish women’s tennis team was back in action with a pair of ACC matchups last weekend. On Friday, they were swept by No. 50 Miami but bounced back two days later with a gritty comeback win over Florida State to wrap up their two-game road trip in Florida. Down 3-2 with their backs against the wall, a clutch three-set victory from senior Nibi Ghosh in No. 4 singles kept Notre Dame alive, putting the match on junior Bojana Pozder’s racket one court over at No. 3. Having already clawed back in a 6-4 second set to tie the match at one apiece, Pozder completed her comeback with a 6-3 third set win to secure an Irish victory. Now improved to 13-3 on the season and 3-2 in ACC play, the No. 30-ranked Irish will look to build on their thrilling win as they set their sights on conference opponent Louisville on Sunday in South Bend.
Louisville sits at 8-5 for the season with a 1-4 ACC record. After opening up 2025 with a 5-1 start, conference play proved a taller task. The Cardinals lost their first three ACC matches to SMU, NC State and Wake Forest by a combined score of 3-13. They responded with a weekend of non-conference victories over Xavier and UAB before tallying their first ACC win in a 4-3 battle against Florida State in Tallahassee. The second game of their weekend trip to Florida, however, ended in a 4-0 sweep against No. 50 Miami. The matches provided an identical sample size of common opponents to the Irish, who also took down the Seminoles 4-3 while getting swept by the Hurricanes in reverse order that same weekend.
Alice Otis takes the No. 1 singles court for Louisville, where the junior has posted a 7-5 overall record while going 1-4 in ACC play. She is on a two-match losing skid after dropping both on the Florida trip. She will have her hands full with No. 101-ranked Akari Matsuno, who sits at 8-1 for the season and is undefeated in the No. 1 singles position, including a 2-0 ACC record. The junior has won her last five matches coming into the weekend.
Lika Peresypkina and Elena Noguero have both seen looks on the second singles court for Louisville, combining for a record of 5-8. Pozder and freshman Bianca Molnar have cycled through court two for the Irish most recently, contributing to a 7-3 overall record at the position.
The bottom half of the lineup has been just as consistent as the top, with a combination of Ghosh, senior Carrie Beckman and junior Rylie Hanford helping courts 4-6 to a combined 30-9 record. The depth and consistency of that group have made up for lessened production on the doubles courts, where Notre Dame holds a 20-12 record compared to their 54-18 singles mark. The Cardinals’ doubles pairings have combined for a 16-14 record in 2025 with the pairing of Otis and Elisabeth Iila emerging as the No. 1 team after going 3-0 in their first three matches at the No. 2 spot. The two have since gone 3-5 on the top court and have lost their last two matches. Before making the trip to South Bend on Sunday, Louisville will host Butler on Friday at noon.
The Sunday ACC clash will begin at 3 p.m. in Eck Tennis Pavilion.
