Coach and Player Quotes from NCAA First Round Matches

Comments from Notre Dame, UIC, Florida State and Iowa.

May 15, 1999

1999 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
First Round, May 15
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Ind.

Notre Dame 9, UIC 0

On her team's play: "I am really pleased with our effort. Our goal was to perform well in our first appearance (in the NCAA championship) and I think we put forth a good performance. It was a good end result (to reach the tournament)."

On the team's continued improvement in the future: "The tournament is what we are striving for. Hopefully, we can show up and start to win some matches. With the continued support of the administration, I think we can continue to improve."

On seniors Sara Jackson and Serena Xie: "They have been tremendous assets to the program. They have been great people to work with and it has been great to watch them grow and develop. They will be missed."

Notre Dame Head Coach Jay Louderback
"I knew we would come out and play well. We practiced a lot this week. The three weeks rest gave us time to get rested from the BIG EAST tournament in Miami that really drained us. The kids were able to concentrate on finals. We hit a lot over the break and I wasn't really worried about that affecting us. We've been focused and ready to play all year. We came out today and played hard from the start."

Notre Dame's Jennifer Hall
"I was pleased with the way I played. I felt it took a while to get going and I was glad I was able to win the final six games. I was definitely rusty after not playing a match in three weeks. I felt I came back after a shaky first set and played a good second set. I realize tomorrow I cannot afford to start slow because Florida State or Iowa will be a tougher match. I will be ready to go."

Iowa 5, Florida State 4

Iowa Head Coach Paul Wardlaw
On the match: "It was just another day for the Hawks. It was our first time in the NCAA's and to be down 4-2 after singles was tough. To sweep doubles was unbelievable. We got down early, but we hung in there."

On tomorrow: "It was a tight match the last time we played. I think it should be different outside, where it is slower. They have lots of firepower."

Iowa's Erica Johnson
"Before we went out we (Erin Wolverton and I) were telling ourselves to stay out as long as possible. We played with a lot of heart today. It was a close match and it was great to be part of a thrilling NCAA win. It was awesome to win."

Iowa's Erin Wolverton
"We played by the "do it or die" method today. We had a lot of belief all year. Me and Erica have been up and down all year (in doubles). We're playing to win tomorrow. Last time we played them (Notre Dame) we were inside and now we're outside and we're playing for something."

Iowa player Shera Wiegler
On her three-hour singles match: "It was exciting. I was in the same position at the Big Ten, except the match was on the line because we were playing a different format. I am glad that I was able to come through."

On her team's effort: "The entire team showed a lot of heart. This was a tremendous accomplishment."

On the length of the entire match (4:50): "I was exhausted after singles (a three hour, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 victory). When you get into the match, the adrenaline starts pumping and you don't think about being sore. You don't want to feel sorry for yourself."

On the match-up with Notre Dame tomorrow: "Notre Dame is going to be fresh and they are a tough team. We played them close (an 8-1 Irish win on March 20) earlier. The scores may not reflect it, but there were some three-set matches. If we play with the heart we had today, we'll be alright."

Florida State Head Coach Lise Gregory
"I think we competed well today. I knew our singles match was important. I think the Wake Forest loss in the ACC tournament was still in our minds. Hopefully our young team can learn from this loss. I learned today to follow your instinct. I had an urge to switch things up a little after the Wake Forest match. But I didn't and I learned to follow your instinct. They hopefully learned that when you have someone down not to get casual. I knew they (Iowa) were a good team and tried to tell my team not to let up on them."