SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team split its road matches over the weekend, dropping a tight 4-3 battle at Georgia Tech on Thursday before rebounding to defeat Clemson 4-1 on Saturday.
Julia Andreach and Nibi Ghosh both went 2-0 in singles over the trip, extending their winning records on courts one and four, respectively. Yashna Yellayi and Akari Matsuno also picked up one singles win each. Yellayi was victorious on Thursday with a three set victory at No. 5, while Matsuno grabbed a three set win of her own on Saturday at No. 6.
The Yellow Jackets took a highly contested doubles point in the first match of the weekend, winning on courts three and two. The home team went on to win five first sets in singles, but the Irish battled back, as four matches advanced to a third set. Andreach, Ghosh, and Yellayi’s three set victories put the Irish just one point short of the team win, as Georgia Tech triumphed in tight battles on courts two, three, and six.
The Irish responded and came out firing against the Tigers on Saturday. Ghosh and Yellayi were first to secure their doubles win with a dominant 6-2 performance at No. 3. Notre Dame capitalized and locked in the first team point of the day as Andreach and Page Freeman won 6-4 at the top spot. Moments later, Carrie Beckman and Matsuno capped things off for a 7-5 win at No. 3.
The Tigers took four first sets, but once again Notre Dame fought back and four matches went the distance. Clemson tied the team match up with a win at No. 5, while Notre Dame edged back ahead with Ghosh’s straight set win at No. 4. After dropping the first set, Matsuno stormed back to win 12 of the last 13 games at No. 6 for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory, bringing Notre Dame within one point of the road win. The final point would come at the hands of Andreach, who also fought from a set down to clinch the team match with a final score of 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Next Up
The Irish hit the road once again for a two match stand in the northeast, facing No. 47 Syracuse on Friday, April 5 at 3:00 p.m. and No. 70 Boston College on Sunday, April 7 at 10:00 a.m.
#20 Georgia Tech 4, #36 Notre Dame 3
Singles
No. 1 – #29 Julia Andreach (ND) def. #45 Carol Lee (GT) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 – Kylie Bilchev (GT) def. Page Freeman (ND) 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 – Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. Bojana Pozder (ND) 7-6(3), 6-3
No. 4 – Nibi Ghosh (ND) def. Scarlett Nicholson (GT) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 – Yashna Yellayi (ND) def. Mahak…