April 4, 1998

Tribe Tennis Rallies to Beat Irish

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- William & Mary's 11th-ranked women's tennis team overcame a slow start in singles play to rally to a 6-3 win over 16th-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack Nagelson Tennis Center.

With the win, the Tribe improved its season record to 12-8.

The Tribe received a quick start at No.1 singles from senior four-time All-American Lauren Nikolaus (Silver Spring, Pa.) who used penetrating ground strokes and a deft touch at the net to power out a 6-1, 6-2 win over the Irish's Jennifer Hall, the nation's 18th ranked women's collegiate player. Nikolaus, who currently is ranked eighth in the ITA collegiate rankings, improved her season record to 26-12.

But after Nikolaus' match, the going was a bit bumpy for the College, as the Irish took the second and fifth singles positions in straight sets and posted first set wins at both the three and four spots. But starting with Carolijn van Rossum's (Nijmengen, The Netherlands) second set comeback from a 4-2 deficit to win 7-5, the Tribe slowly turned the momentum in its favor. True freshman Lindsay Sullivan (Boca Raton, Fla.) slugged out a 6-3, 7-5 win at the six singles spot, while Tari Ann Toro (Miami, Fla.) fought back from a first set loss to turn in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4. The last match off the singles courts featured a momentous battle at the three position, with van Rossum finally taking the third set by a 6-4 tally.

The win for the Tribe was sealed when the College's No. 1 doubles tandem of O/Nikolaus (ranked No. 10 nationally) turned in an 8-4 win over the Irish's Hall and Tiffany Gates.

Team Score: No. 11 W&M 6, No. 16 Notre Dame 3
No. 1 Lauren Nikolaus (WM) def. Jennifer Hall,  6-1, 6-1
No. 2 Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Michelle O,  6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Carolijn van Rossum (WM) def. Marisa Velasco,  5-7, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 Tari Ann Toro (WM) def. Tiffany Gates,  3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 Kelly Zalinski (ND) def. Annette Oosters,  3-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 Lindsay Sullivan (WM) def. Kelley Olson,  6-3, 7-5
DOUBLES
No. 1 Nikolaus/O (WM) def. Gates/Hall,  8-4
No. 2 Laura Taggaris/Toro (WM) def. Dasso/Velasco,  8-6
No. 3 Olson/Zalinski (ND) def. Maya Klavora/van Rossum,  8-6