Women’s tennis hosts Fighting Irish

Coming off their second win, the Bulls are up against their toughest opponent of the season.

The South Florida women’s tennis team will host No. 3 Notre Dame at 1 p.m. today at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

Notre Dame (12-1) is fresh off a 7-0 sweep against Iowa. The Irish have won six consecutive matches and haven’t lost more than two points in a match during the streak.

“They are a very good team and play great in both singles and doubles,” said Bulls coach Agustin Moreno. “We have beaten (Notre Dame) before and always play them close, so I think we have a good chance, but this is going to be our toughest match of the season.”

Three nationally ranked players lead the Irish. Senior Kelcy Tefft is No. 33 in singles, while her freshman teammate Kristy Frilling is No. 55. Rounding out the trio is No. 114 sophomore Kristen Rafael.

However, it’s an unranked Notre Dame freshman, Shannon Mathews, who has impressed the most. She has seen most of her playing time in the No. 6 singles position and she’s yet to lose a collegiate match, going 12-0.

The Bulls (2-7) defeated Ohio State on Sunday. Their 5-2 victory was even more imposing because Ohio State was No. 35 in the nation and carried a four-game winning streak.

“Beating Ohio State is huge because they are such a big program,” Moreno said. “Hopefully we can carry that momentum into the match with Notre Dame. We have the right state of mind as a team now.”