Season Preview
Young, Experienced Fighting Irish Lineup Looks To Continue Winning Ways Six returnees and four newcomers look for sixth straight BIG EAST Conference crown. After winning a fifth consecutive BIG EAST Conference Championship in 201112, the 12th league title in 17 years as a conference member, the University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team saw its season end in the second round of the NCAA Championship. Despite losing senior standouts Kristy Frilling and Shannon Mathews to graduation, 24th-year head coach Jay Louderback and the Fighting Irish bring a youthful but seasoned core group of players to the court in 2012-13. Frilling, the only five-time All-America selection in the history of the program, wrapped up her Notre Dame career with a sparkling 106-43 singles record and an equally impressive 109-27 mark in doubles play. Her 235 combined wins tied her with Kali Krisik for third on the school’s all-time victories list. Frilling also was named BIG EAST Player of the Year twice (2010 and 2011) and was a two-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association ScholarAthlete (2011 and 2012) and a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star (2010-12). Mathews enjoyed one of the most decorated senior seasons in Fighting Irish history in 2011-12, going 21-9 in singles and 30-9 in doubles with Frilling, at one time reaching the No. 1 position in the ITA Women’s National Doubles Rankings. Mathews was recognized as the BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year, the ITA Midwest Senior of the Year and was chosen as an ITA Doubles All-American along with Frilling. “You don’t replace Frilling and Mathews. They played one and two (singles) for most of their careers, and as freshmen were instrumental in us reaching the national final four,” Louderback says. “They were very important players, and you can’t just replace that. With only one
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senior we will be young, but we have a big junior class, which will help us with experience.” Co-captain Chrissie McGaffigan, the team’s only returning senior, looks to continue the success she has already enjoyed in the first three years of her career. The Davenport, Iowa native enters her final season with a 55-39 all-time record in singles play after finishing with a 19-14 mark in 2011-12. Where McGaffigan has really made her mark is in doubles competition, and her 65 career victories are the most among Notre Dame returnees. Along with junior co-captain Jennifer Kellner, the pair compiled a brilliant 28-8 doubles record last season that included a seven-match unbeaten streak. Kellner also excelled in singles competition during her sophomore campaign, logging a 26-8 record from the primary third position. She had a string of nine wins in 10 matches to cap the transition from the fall to the spring slate, highlighted by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 triumph over No. 110 Marie Casares of then-No. 18 Vanderbilt. Kellner has won 78.5 percent (51-14) of her singles tilts in her first two years with the Fighting Irish, the best winning percentage of any player on the active roster. Fellow junior Julie Sabacinski will look to build on her solid sophomore season in 2012-13. Sabacinski and doubles teammate Britney Sanders reached a high mark of 60th in the ITA Women’s National Doubles Rankings last year. The duo claimed quality wins over No. 54 Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn of Georgia Tech (8-3) and Duke’s Mary Clayton and Ester Goldfield (8-5), who also were ranked No. 54 in the ITA poll at the time.
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Junior Britney Sanders looks to build on her successful sophomore campaign in 2011-12, where she led the Fighting Irish with 28 singles wins.
The aforementioned Sanders enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign in singles play, winning a team-high 28 matches with only eight losses. She defeated three opponents ranked in the ITA Top-125, with signature wins coming over No. 73 Wen Sun (Texas A&M), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, and No. 76 Caroline Price (North Carolina), 6-3, 6-4. Sanders and initial doubles partner Katherine White posted a 12-6 mark as a tandem, downing No. 20 Kate Fuller and Lauren Herring of Georgia 8-6 at the Indiana Invitational for a signature win. Now a sophomore, White (24 combined victories in 2012) and junior JoHanna Manningham add to the seasoned group of returnees that Louderback and second-