Women's tennis drops ACC opener to Notre Dame

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs fall in ACC opener to Notre Dame

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU women's tennis came up short to No. 22 Notre Dame in their inaugural ACC match, falling 4-1 to the Fighting Irish at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex Friday afternoon.

"Really proud of our fight," said Head Coach Jeff Nevolo post-match. "We got down early and found a way to scrape and claw back into it. I believe we learned a lot today and will get better from this tough match."

Notre Dame claimed the day's first point with doubles wins on court three and two. First, Bianco Molnar and Bojana Pozder teamed up to defeat Kayla Schefke and Millie Skelton 6-3, and then Akari Matsuno and Rylie Hanford took down Drew Morris and Caroline McGinley 6-3. Sophie Llewellyn and Ellie Pittman continued their great stretch of doubles play as a tandem, winning their third straight in a 6-4 victory over Carrie Beckman and Maria Oliva Castedo 6-4. The result improved the pairing to 7-2 in dual matches this season.

Notre Dame took all but one of the first sets to start singles play, with Drew Morris winning the lone frame for the Mustangs. Morris went on to win the second set to even the point total at 1-1, with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Carrie Beckman on court three. Morris won her third straight singles match and has now won four of her last five.

Despite several set-two victories for the Mustangs and forcing hard-fought tiebreakers, SMU dropped the remainder of the singles matches, resulting in a 4-1 loss to open conference competition. SMU moved to 5-5 on the season, while the Fighting Irish improved to 11-1.

NEXT UP:
SMU will be back in action Sunday, Feb. 23, for a doubleheader against Louisville and Incarnate Word starting at noon CT.

Results
#57 SMU 1, #22 Notre Dame 4

Doubles
1. Sophie Llewellyn/Ellie Pittman (SMU) def. Carrie Beckman/Maria Olivia Castedo (ND) 6-4
2. Akari Matsuno/Rylie Hanford (ND) def. 6-3 Drew Morris/Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-3
3. Bianca Molnar/Bojana Pozder (ND) def. Kayla Schefke/Millie Skelton (SMU) 6-3

Singles
1. Sophie Llewellyn (SMU) vs. #109 Akari Matsuno (ND) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) uf
2. Ellie Pittman (SMU) vs. Bojana Pozder (ND) 4-6, 6-1, 4-3 uf
3. Drew Morris (SMU) def. Carrie Beckman (ND) 6-3, 6-4
4. Bianca Molnar (ND) def. Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) 6-2, 7-6 (11-9)
5. Nibi Ghosh (ND) def. Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Rylie Hanford (ND) def. Millie Skelton (SMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)

(Order of finish: Doubles 3, 2, 1 / Singles 3, 5, 6, 4)