March 16, 2007

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 19th-ranked University of Tennessee women's tennis team (6-7) concluded the non-conference portion of its schedule with a tough, 6-1, loss at the hands of No. 2 Notre Dame (15-1) Friday afternoon at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. Freshman Connor Vogel picked up the Lady Vols' lone point of the day, earning the 10th overall singles win and second victory over a ranked opponent of her young career.

The in-state product from Germantown, Tenn., downed No. 89 Christian Thompson in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, at the second spot in the singles lineup to move her record to 10-11 on the season and 2-4 against ranked opposition.

Prior to Vogel's heroics, Notre Dame put the first tally on the scoreboard by sweeping all three doubles contests. The fifth-rated tandem of sisters Christian and Catrina Thompson took out the UT duo of senior Blakeley Griffith and sophomore Samantha Orlin, 8-1, at the top spot, while the nation's No. 52-pairing of Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik clinched the initial point of the match on court three with an 8-4 win over senior Victoria Jones and Vogel. The final contest also went to the Fighting Irish, as Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft defeated Tennessee freshmen Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsófia Zubor, 8-5, at two doubles.

In singles play, Notre Dame opened with three quick victories to ensure itself of its 10th consecutive dual-match victory. The first match to finish came on center court, where 27th-ranked Catrina Thompson claimed a 6-0, 6-3, win over No. 22 Griffith. The 31st-ranked Ciobanu followed shortly thereafter with an easy 6-2, 6-0, victory over Jones at the fifth spot before Tefft clinched the team win with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Orlin at the fourth position.

The Big Orange was able to keep the Irish from taking home a shutout behind the strength of Vogel's win, but was unable to do any more damage, falling in the final two contests. Colleen Rielley emerged victorious in a hard-fought match with Whoriskey on the third court, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5), and Buck earned a 6-4, 7-6 win over Zubor at the last spot in the lineup to round out the score.

The Orange and White have a week off to rest up before returning to Southeastern Conference play with a pair of road matches in the Yellowhammer state. Tennessee will first head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where the No. 54 University of Alabama (5-6, 1-3 SEC) will be waiting for a 5 p.m. ET contest on March 23. The Lady Vols will then travel down to Auburn, Ala. two days later, where they will square off with 61st-ranked Auburn University (7-4, 2-2 SEC) in a 1 p.m. ET showdown.