May 11, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Wisconsin women's tennis team defeated Notre Dame, 4-2, in the opening match of the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship at Northwestern University. It was a mild upset, as the Badgers entered the match ranked 30th while the Fighting Irish was ranked 21st.
Wisconsin moves on to Sunday's second round, and will meet the winner of the Northwestern-Illinois-Chicago matchup.
The match - which was moved indoors during the doubles portion - took nearly four hours and was marked by several close matches.
The Fighting Irish got the early advantage by eking out the doubles point. The three matches ended within minutes of each other, making for high drama as they neared their conclusion. Wisconsin took the early lead when Katie McGaffigan and Lindsay Martin won at No. 3 (8-5). However, ND drew even when Becky Varnum and Nina Vaughan won at No. 2 (8-6).
The No. 1 match went to a tiebreaker, getting there when Wisconsin's Linda Mues and Lara Vojnov fought off four match points before winning to make the score 8-8. However, Notre Dame's Katie Cunha and Lindsey Greene broke a 2-2 tie in the tiebreaker with three straight points and never looked back, eventually taking a 7-3 decision to win the set 9-8 and clinch the point.
However, Wisconsin won in the first four spots on the singles ladder to clinch the victory. The Badgers got off to a quick start when Shana McElroy defeated Vaughan at No. 3 (6-2, 6-2) and then Mues finished off Greene at No. 2 (6-2, 6-2).
Notre Dame drew level again when Cunha defeated Katie Dougherty (6-2, 6-0). However, Wisconsin went back on top when McGaffigan pulled out the No. 4 match against Alicia Salas (6-4, 2-6, 6-2).
The No. 1 match proved to be the deciding match, and it was an emotionally charged affair. However, Wisconsin's Vanessa Rauh eventually outlasted Varnum and won with a pair of tiebreaker victories (7-6[8-6], 7-6[4]). Following the conclusion of that match, the No. 6 singles match between Sarah Jane Connelly (Notre Dame) and Lindsay Martin (Wisconsin) was abandoned.
Wisconsin 4, Notre Dame 2
SINGLES
No. 1 Vanessa Rauh (UW) def. Becky Varnum (ND), 7-6(6), 7-6(4)*
No. 2 Linde Mues (UW) def. Lindsey Greene (ND), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Shana McElroy (UW) def. Nina Vaughan (ND), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Katie McGaffigan (UW) def. Alicia Salas (ND), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5 Katie Cunha (ND) def. Katie Dougherty (UW), 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 Sarah Jane Connelly (ND) vs. Lindsay Martin (UW), Abandoned
(order of finish: No. 3, No. 2, No. 5, No. 4, No. 1)
DOUBLES
No. 1 Green/ Cunha (ND) def. Mues/ Vojnov (UW), 9-8(7)**
No. 2 Varnum/ Vaughan (ND) def. Dougherty/Teresa Gonzaga (UW), 8-6
No. 3 McGaffigan/Martin (UW) def. Salas/Connelly (ND), 8-5
(order of finish: No. 3, No. 2, No. 1)
*clinched match
**clinched doubles point
RECORDS: Wisconsin 17-8 Notre Dame 14-14
ATTENDANCE: 237