Cavaliers Fall to Notre Dame in Blue Gray Final

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 9 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered a 4-0 loss to No. 19 Notre Dame in the championship match of the 2011 Blue Gray Tennis Classic Sunday afternoon at Lagoon Park. The Cavaliers, who topped No. 48 DePaul and No. 43 Ohio State in the first two rounds of the tournament, fall to 10-2 with the loss.

Notre Dame (7-4) took the early 1-0 lead in the match by winning the doubles point, just the second time this season Virginia has dropped the opening point. Jennifer Kellner and Julie Sabacinski defeated Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) and Rashmi Teltumbde (Mumbai, India) 8-4 at No. 3. The Irish clinched the doubles point as Kristy Frilling and Shannon Mathews topped Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) 8-6 at the top spot.

In singles, the Fighting Irish extended its lead to 2-0 as Chrissie McGaffigan topped Fuccillo 6-4, 6-0 at the No. 5 position. The lead became 3-0 when Kristen Rafael defeated Erin Vierra 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3. Mathews clinched the championship for Notre Dame with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) at the No. 2 spot.

“Today was a rough day at the office for us,” said head coach Mark Guilbeau. “We definitely didn’t play our best match today, but Notre Dame was responsible for that in many ways. Congrats to the Irish on winning the Blue Gray Classic title. We had a great experience at this tournament ad appreciate all of the Blue Gray staff and volunteers that make this tournament happen. We also thank our housing for a great weekend and the USTA for supporting this event.”

The Cavaliers return to action next week with a pair of matches. On Saturday, Virginia visits William & Mary at 11 a.m. before returning home to host Virginia Tech on Sunday in the ACC opener at 1 p.m.

#19 Notre Dame 4, #9 Virginia 0

Doubles:
1. #57 Frilling/Mathews (ND) def. #10 Fraser/Tomljanovic (UVa) 8-6
2. #67 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) vs. McGaffigan/Rafael (ND) 7-7 DNF
3. Kellner/Sabacinski (ND) def. #51 Fuccillo/Teltumbde (UVa) 8-4

Singles:
1. #41 Emily Fraser (UVa) vs. #3 Kristy Frilling (ND) 7-6, 4-6, 0-0 DNF
2. #43 Shannon Mathews (ND) def. #67 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
3. Kristen Rafael (ND) def. #54 Erin Vierra (UVa) 6-4 6-2
4. #102 Jennifer Kellner (ND) led Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
5. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND) def. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) 6-4, 6-0
6. Julie Sabacinski (ND) led Caryssa Peretz (UVa) 7-5 4-5 DNF

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,1
Singles: 5,3,2