Notre Dame Women’s Tennis 13 Straight Top-30 Finishes • 12 NCAA Tournaments Since ‘93 • 18 Conference Titles Weekly Notes Package • September 29, 2005 • Contact: Bo Rottenborn, [email protected] Hoosier Classic Bloomington, Indiana • Outdoor Varsity Tennis Courts • Indiana University September 30-October 2, 2005 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships Pacific Palisades, CA • Riviera Tennis Club // Los Angeles, CA • Los Angeles Tennis Center (prequalifying) October 1-2 (prequalifying); October 4-5 (qualifying); October 6-9 (main draw) THOMPSONS OFF TO ALL-AMERICANS, WHILE REST OF IRISH HEAD TO HOOSIER CLASSIC: Junior twins Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) will head to the first grand slam of the season, while the rest of the University of Notre Dame women’s teannis team will travel to the Hoosier Classic at Indiana University this weekend. Christian Thompson will begin play in the prequalifying singles draw on Saturday, while her sister will start in the qualifying singles bracket on Tuesday, and they will team up — as the #2-ranked pair in college tennis — for main draw doubles play beginning next Thursday, Oct. 6. Meanwhile, the rest of the Irish will be in action from Friday through Sunday at the Outdoor Varsity Tennis Courts in Bloomington, Ind. HOOSIER CLASSIC FORMAT: The Hoosier Classic will take place at the Outdoor and Indoor Varsity Tennis Courts on the campus of Indiana University from Friday through Sunday. Six teams will be participating: Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, LSU, Murray State, and Notre Dame. Action will begin at 10 a.m. (EST) on Friday. The tournament will feature five eight-player draws in singles, a 16-team doubles draw, and other round-robin match- es. IRISH DRAWS: Sophomore Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School), who at 54th is the highest-ranked singles player in the tourna- ment, will begin play in the “A” flight in singles by facing Marina Chiarelli of LSU. In the “B” flight, senior Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) will immediately get a shot at a nationally-ranked player when she takes on 95th-ranked Tamar Kvaratskhelia of Kansas State. Also in that draw, freshman Katie Potts (Brookfield, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels H.S.) will make her collegiate debut against Kansas’ Ksenia Bukina. In the “C” flight, senior captain Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) has Indiana’s Brianna Wiliams first, while rookie Kelcy Tefft (Enid, Okla./Chisholm H.S.) will face Tiffany Tucker of LSU. Senior Kelly Nelson (St. Petersburg, Fla./Shorecrest Preparatory School) will play Lauren Hommell of Kansas in the first round of the “D” flight, while sophomore Bailey Louderback (South Bend, Ind./Penn H.S.) will play Tami McQueen of Murray State in round robin action. In doubles, the 60th-ranked duo of Buck and Tefft will have Skoda and Brown from Kansas to begin. Connelly and Stastny, who earned a ranked win last weekend, will face the Lask sisters from Murray State, and Nelson and Potts will take on Avdeeva and Bukina of Kansas. ND IN THE HOOSIER CLASSIC: This will be the second year in a row and fourth time overall that Notre Dame has played in a fall tournament at Indiana University. Last season, the Indiana Invitational — played in November — featured a hidden dual format. The Irish went 11-7 in singles and 5- 4 in doubles, as sophomore Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School) earned a pair of ranked upsets, while senior senior Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) notched her first career win over a ranked foe. ND also played in the 1989 Hoosier Conseco Classic and the 1999 Indiana Invitational. RANKED PLAYERS IN THE HOOSIER CLASSIC: The Hoosier Classic will feature four nationally-ranked singles players and three ranked teams in doubles. In singles, Irish sophomore Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School) leads the way at 54th, while Sarah Batty of Indiana is 82nd, her teammate Dora Vastag is 90th, and Kansas State’s Tamar Kvaratskhelia (who is in the “B” flight) is 95th. Batty and Laura McGaffigan are 19th in doubles, while Buck and freshman Kelcy Tefft (Enid, Okla./Chisholm H.S.) are tied for 60th, along with LSU’s Tiffany Tucker and Lauren Seaman. RIVIERA/ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FORMAT & HISTORY: The Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships, the first of three legs of the collegiate grand slam, will take place from Oct. 1-9 in the greater Los Angeles area. The Oct. 6-9 main draw (32 singles, 16 doubles) is pre- ceded by two sets of qualifying tournaments. The 64-player, 32 doubles team prequalifying tournament is Oct. 1-2 at UCLA and four players and dou- bles teams will advance from there to the Oct. 4-5 64-player qualifying tournament at Riviera (where eight players and four doubles teams will advance to the main draw). The premier hard court event of the fall collegiate season, the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships feature the top play- ers in NCAA Division I tennis. The tournament dates back to 1983 when Georgia's Lisa Spain won the inaugural title. In 1999 the University of San Diego's Zuzana Lesenarova made history at the Riviera when she won her record fifth national collegiate singles title. In 2003 California's Raquel Kops- Jones become the first African American woman to win a national collegiate singles title at the NCAA Division I level. Stanford boasts the most singles and doubles champions at this event with a total of eight, and Texas is not far behind with six. Past participants include current and recent top-100 pro- fessionals Lisa Raymond, Jill Craybas, Marissa Irvin and Laura Granville. Northwestern's Audra Cohen captured the 2004 singles title and Florida's Whitney Benik and Lolita Frangulyan took home the doubles crown. The famous Riviera Tennis Club has played host to this event since 1988 (it also hosted an intercollegiate women's championship from 1986-88). Notre Dame Women’s Tennis Fall 2005 Schedule Sept. 23-25 at Maryland Invitational (College Park, MD) — Connelly/Stastny, Stastny, Nelson win consolation championships Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Hoosier Classic (Bloomington, IN) Oct. 1-9 at Riviera/ITA All-American Championships (Pacific Palisades, CA) Oct. 14 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (exhibition) Oct. 20-25 at ITA Midwest Championships (East Lansing, MI) Nov. 3-6 at ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships (Columbus, OH) Nov. 4-6 at Midwest Blast VII (Urbana, IL) Irish in the All-American IRISH DRAWS: Junior Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) will begin singles action in prequalifying on Saturday, facing the No. 12 seed, 120th-ranked Emily Kirchem of Championships Colorado State, at 9 a.m. (PDT). A win would send her into a second-round match later that day (main draw results only) against either Rice’s Kimberley Patenaude or 125th-ranked Natalie Braverman from Pepperdine. SINGLES Thompson would then need to win one match on Sunday to advance to qualifying. That begins on 2003 - Alicia Salas (first round) Tuesday, and junior Catrina 1st: l. Tammy Encina (Tennessee) 6-4, 6-0 Thompson (Las Vegas, MOST MAIN-DRAW DOUBLES WINS IN ITA Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.), GRAND SLAMS, 2004-05 2000 - Michelle Dasso (quarterfinals) ranked 27th, will definitely be par- Team Record 1st: def. [3] Kristina Kraszewski (Washington) 7-6, ticipating. The draw for that will be Alice Barnes/Erin Burdette, Stanford 8-1 6-7, 6-1 posted on Monday. The main Audra Cohen/Cristelle Grier, Northwestern 7-1 Rd. of 16: def. Anna Monhartova (Tulane) 6-3, 6-4 draws will be determined on Catrina Thompson/Catrina Thompson, Notre Dame 6-3 Quarters: l. Lauren Kalvaria (Stanford) 6-2, 6-4 Wednesday, and the Thompsons 1998 - Michelle Dasso (first round) will be in that in doubles. 1st: l. [1] Vanessa Webb (Duke) 6-0, 6-4 ND IN THE RIVIERA/ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Notre Dame will be represent- 1997 - Jennifer Hall (round of 16) ed in a main draw of the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships for the third straight year and the 1st: def. [6] Vicki Maes (Arizona) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 12th time in the last 15 years. Top finishes for Irish players include current assistant coach Michelle Rd. of 16: l. Amanda Augustus (Cal) 6-2, 6-4 Dasso reaching the singles quarterfinals in 2000, Wendy Crabtree and Lisa Tholen advancing to 1996 - Jennifer Hall [6] (first round) the doubles semis in 1993, and current juniors Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop 1st: l. Agnes Muzamel (Mississippi) 6-3, 6-4 Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) falling in the dou- bles final a year ago. See box on this page for complete results of the Irish in the All-American 1995 - Wendy Crabtree [6] (first round) Championships main draws. 1st: l. Marianne Vallin (UNLV) 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 1994 - Wendy Crabtree (round of 16) IRISH HEAD COACH: Jay Louderback is in his 17th season at Notre Dame with a 283-147 1st: def. Katie Schlukebir (Stanford) 6-3, 6-4 (.659) record and his 26th year as a collegiate coach with a 487-325 (.600) mark. He ranks fifth Rd. of 16: l. [3] Kelly Pace (Texas) 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 among active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories. Louderback's Irish have finished in the national top 30 in each of the last 13 seasons and have won 12 conference titles. Since the pre- 1993 - Wendy Crabtree (first round) season of the 1992-93 season, Louderback's teams have been in the national top 30 in 202 of 204 1st: l.