The Notre Dame women’s tennis team was selected for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, according to an April 27 announcement. This marks the program’s 28th overall appearance and its fourth consecutive selection under Head Coach Alison Silverio.
The tournament will begin in Columbus, where Ohio State is set to host the opening two rounds. Notre Dame, ranked #34 with an 18-9 record, will face #26 Arizona (20-9) in the first round. If successful, they would play either #5 Ohio State or Youngstown State.
Notre Dame improved its standing after recent wins against Boston College and Clemson at the ACC Tournament, moving from 44th to 34th in national ITA rankings. The team has won six of its last eight matches heading into postseason play.
Sophomore Bianca Molnar leads Notre Dame as an All-ACC honoree and holds a season record of 19-11, including ten wins at No.1 singles and four victories over ranked opponents. Other players with double-digit singles wins include Rylie Hanford (10-8), Sophia Holod (15-8), Jessica Kovalcik (15-1), and Akari Matsuno (12-6). Freshmen Holod and Kovalcik tied for most dual match wins on the team this season; Kovalcik recorded straight-set victories in fourteen out of her fifteen wins.
In doubles competition, pairings Pozder/Molnar (#43), Rawles/Hanford (#68), and Van Zyl/Matsuno have a combined winning percentage of over sixty-eight percent. Pozder and Molnar earned ACC All-Third Team honors as a tandem by reaching twenty wins—something not achieved at Notre Dame since 2015.
Coach Silverio holds a career NCAA Tournament record of three wins and three losses at Notre Dame, having reached at least the second round each year during her tenure so far.
