Notre Dame women’s tennis advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Arizona 4-3 on May 2 in Columbus, Ohio. The match was decided by freshman Sophia Holod, who secured the final point for the Fighting Irish.
This result marks Notre Dame’s 28th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fourth consecutive year under Head Coach Alison Silverio. The victory is significant as it continues a tradition of success for the program, which has now advanced at least one round in all but three of its tournament appearances.
Arizona took an early lead by winning the doubles point, with Chulak/Moore defeating Molnar/Pozder and Usereau/Garcia overcoming Rawles/Hanford. Notre Dame’s Matsuno/Van Zyl led their match when play was stopped due to Arizona clinching two out of three doubles matches.
In singles play, Notre Dame gained momentum by winning five first sets. Akari Matsuno tied up the team score with a straight-set win on court two, followed by Rylie Hanford’s victory on court four. After Arizona evened the score again, attention turned to three freshmen: Holod, Gabriella Rawles, and Jessica Kovalcik. Rawles put Notre Dame ahead before Arizona leveled it at 3-3 through Chulak’s win over Kovalcik.
Holod then broke serve to take a late lead against Moore and ultimately served out the deciding set at deuce for Notre Dame’s fourth point. With this win, Notre Dame improved its season record to 19-9 and maintained strong form heading into subsequent rounds.
