Twice as nice: Irish claim Big East title

For the second consecutive year, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team will return from Tampa, Fla. with the sense of a mission accomplished.

After coasting into the finals with victories over Pittsburgh and Rutgers, the Irish had their way with DePaul winning 4-2 and staking their claim to back-to-back Big East championships.

The victory gave Notre Dame its ninth league title and a berth in next month’s NCAA Championships for the 14th consecutive year.

The match was business as usual for the Irish (24-4), taking the doubles point in convincing fashion before finishing the job in the singles portion. The second-ranked doubles team of senior Kelcy Tefft and freshman Kristy Frilling pushed their record to 34-3 on the season with an 8-2 victory in the No. 1 doubles match. The point-clinching second victory came from junior Colleen Rielley and freshman Shannon Mathews in the No. 3 doubles match. The duo won their sixth consecutive contest 8-1 to improve to 20-8 on the season.
DePaul tried to claw their way back into the match claiming the first two victories of the singles competition, but the depth of the Irish proved too much to handle. #35 Tefft, Mathews, and junior Kali Krisik each earned singles victories giving the Irish enough points for the victory.

The win moves the Irish to 13-0 all-time against DePaul, three of those coming in the Big East tournament.

The team will take some time off before it suits up for the NCAA Championships beginning May 9-10. Depending on the pairings which will be released in early May, the Irish may have the opportunity to host first and second-round matches at home.

For complete coverage of this weekend’s Big East tournament, see Doug Farmer’s game wrap in Monday’s Observer.