TCU
#36 Notre Dame
Horned Frogs Topple Notre Dame
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A big third set victory from senior Simona Parajova clinched the first round 4-2 victory for the No. 17 TCU women's tennis team over No. 34 Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships in College Station, Texas.
The Horned Frogs (19-8) held the lead the entire match at the Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M after snatching the doubles point against the Fighting Irish (14-11). The team then relied on their seniors to finish out the match, as Parajova bounced back from a first-set tiebreaking loss to steal the next two sets and clinch the match for TCU.
TCU will take part in the second round of the NCAA Championships tomorrow, with a showdown with No. 10 Texas A&M set for 10 a.m., with the victor advancing to compete in the NCAA Championship Team Finals held May 14-25 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas on the campus of Baylor.
"We really had two tough opponents, one being the wind the other being Notre Dame," head coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "They are a great team, and we knew they were going to be. We were excited to play them, but at the same time we were hoping for a different first round, someone maybe not so tough. They played a great ACC schedule all year long. It was a tough match, and I think it could have gone either way so I am proud of our girls."
Palina Dubavets and Alexis Pereira notched their team-leading 19th victory of the season and opened doubles action for TCU with their 8-4 win over Allison Miller and Julie Vrabel on court two. The Frogs did not have to wait long for the second victory, as No. 30 Seda Arantekin and Stefanie Tan took out their sixth ranked opponent of the season by downing No. 29 Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson, 8-5.
Notre Dame was able to even out the score at the opening of singles action with a victory on court five, but Alexis Pereira put the Frogs up 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 win of her own at the No. 6 position.
Sofiko Kadzhaya continued the winning ways for TCU by taking out Vrabel 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 at the No. 3 position and put the Frogs up 3-1 and one step closer to the match victory. The Fighting Irish did not back down and took the match on court four to make it 3-2 in the match.
The final two courts saw both TCU seniors battling it out in the decisive third set, as No. 46 Parajova fought back from a loss in the first set to down Monica Robinson, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3 and clinch the win for the Frogs.
"Overall it has been an emotional 10 days and a rough week for our girls," Walker said. "Our assistant coach's baby is fighting for his life, which is why we have "Lennox" on the back of our jerseys, and we are just grateful to play at this point.
"Obviously we were here a couple of months ago and beat Texas A&M here, but we know that they have become so much better and have had a great season. We have a major mountain to climb against them. They have had such a great year, and I am sure coach (Howard) Joffe has them hungry and fired up ready to kill us. We are thankful that we won today and can have another day to play. We are confident and I just think we need to have a great recovery session because that was a long match. On the good side, although we will probably be a little tired, we are tested so we will be ready to play at a high level."
Tennis Match Results
Notre Dame vs TCU
5/9/2015 at College Station, Texas
(George P. Mitchell Tennis Center)
#17 TCU 4, #34 Notre Dame 2
Singles competition
1. #90 Stefanie Tan (TCU) vs. Quinn Gleason (ND) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
2. #46 Simona Parajova (TCU) def. Monica Robinson (ND) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-3
3. Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) def. Julie Vrabel (ND) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. Mary Closs (ND) def. Palina Dubavets (TCU) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
5. Allison Miller (ND) def. Seda Arantekin (TCU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Alexis Pereira (TCU) def. Jane Fennelly (ND) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #30 Seda Arantekin/Stefanie Tan (TCU) def. #29 Quinn Gleason/Monica Robinson (ND) 8-5
2. Palina Dubavets/Alexis Pereira (TCU) def. Allison Miller/Julie Vrabel (ND) 8-4
3. Sofiko Kadzhaya/Simona Parajova (TCU) vs. Mary Closs/Jane Fennelly (ND) 6-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
Notre Dame 14-11; National ranking #34
TCU 19-8; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,6,3,4,2)
NCAA Championship -- First Round
Players Mentioned
