COLUMBUS, Ohio – Notre Dame Women’s Tennis split its matches this weekend at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, hosted by Ohio State. The Irish dropped the opening match on Friday to the host Buckeyes, setting up a Saturday night matchup with Big 12 foe Kansas. Just before midnight, the Fighting Irish gutted out a 4-3 victory over a team that finished in the top 25 last season.
Playing in the fourth and final match of the day, Notre Dame took to the court to battle the Jayhawks at 8:20 p.m. Each doubles match was highly contested, with Kansas winning a few key points down the stretch to secure a 1-0 lead with victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2.
The Irish battled back in singles, with Page Freeman and Nibi Ghosh putting the team’s first two points on the board with straight set wins on courts No.1 and No. 6, respectively. Kansas moved to a 3-2 lead after two hard fought matches at No. 4 and No. 5.
It all came down to seniors Julia Andreach and Yashna Yellayi at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Yellayi stormed back from the brink of defeat, turning around a 5-7, 3-5 deficit to take down her opponent, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
After a back and forth final set, Andreach found herself down 0-2 in the tiebreak, before reeling off six points in a row to set up a slew of match points. At 6-5, she would not be denied, showing off her signature hustle and retrieving a short forehand that dribbled on her opponent’s side for the Irish victory.
Next Up
Notre Dame hosts a double header at the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Sunday, February 4 against Ball State at 1:00 p.m. and Chicago State at 5:00 p.m.
Box Score – Ohio State
Singles
No. 1 – #15 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. Page Freeman (ND), 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 – Julia Andreach (ND) vs. #85 Luciana Perry (OSU), 5-7, 0-4
No. 3 – Sydni Ratliff (ND) def. Yashna Yellayi (ND), 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 – Bojana Pozder (ND) vs. Teah Chavez (OSU), 4-6, 3-2
No. 5 – Shelly Bereznyak (ND) def. Akari Matsuno (ND), 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Nibi Ghosh (ND) vs. Audrey Spencer (OSU), 7-6(4), 0-0
Doubles
No. 1 – Luciana Perry/Sydni Ratliff def. Page Freeman/Carrie Beckman (ND), 7-5
No. 2 – Julia Andreach/Yashna Yellayi (ND) vs. Irina Cantos Siemers/Audrey Spencer (OSU), 6-5
No. 3 – Madeline Atway/Teah Chavez (OSU) def. Akari Matsuno/Bojana Pozder (ND) 6-2
Order of finish
Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,1,5)
Box Score – Kansas
Singles
No. 1 – Page Freeman (ND) def. Maria Titova (KU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 – Julia Andreach (ND) def. #110 Gracie Mulville (KU), 3-6, 6-3,…