Notre Dame Women’s Tennis Faces Challenges on Road, Prepares for UNC Showdown

After a promising start to the 2026 season, the Notre Dame women’s tennis team encountered setbacks during a recent road trip, falling to No. 15 Clemson 4-1 and suffering a 4-0 defeat against Georgia Tech. Despite the losses, the team remains competitive and looks to rebound as they prepare to face No. 3-ranked UNC.

Road Trip Results

The Irish began their road trip at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility in Clemson, South Carolina, where they faced the 11-3 Clemson Tigers. Notre Dame secured the doubles point with victories from the pairings of Rylie Hanford and Gabriella Rawles (6-2) and Akari Matsuno and Mari-Louise Van Zyl (retirement). However, Clemson dominated the singles competition, winning all six matches.

• Jade Groen defeated No. 46-ranked Bianca Molnar 6-2, 6-1.
• Romana Cisovska beat Holod 6-3, 6-2.
• Rinon Okuwaki defeated Akari Matsuno 7-6(5), 6-3.
• Artemis Aslanisvili defeated Hanford 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Two days later, the Irish traveled to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. Hanford and Rawles once again won their doubles match, defeating Taly Licht and Sabritt Dozier 6-3. However, Georgia Tech secured the doubles point with wins from Alejandra Cruz and Seri Nayuki over Matsuno and Holod (6-3) and Given Roach and Eleni Karantali over Bojana Pozder and Jessica Kovalcik (6-4).

Singles Struggles in Atlanta

Georgia Tech continued their momentum into singles play, sweeping all four matches against Notre Dame.

• Taly Licht defeated Hanford 6-4, 6-3.
• Given Roach edged out Holod 6-4, 6-4.
• Eleni Karantali completed the sweep against Van Zyl 6-3, 7-5.

Looking Ahead

Despite the challenging weekend, Notre Dame’s doubles lineup has shown strength, and the team is focused on improving their singles performance. The Irish will have a two-week break before traveling to Chapel Hill to face No. 3-ranked UNC on March 13, with match play beginning at 3 p.m.