By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer

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Notre Dame slipped past the Texas A&M women's tennis team by winning the last match standing Saturday, but Aggie coach Bobby Kleinecke thought the key was the first two matches off the courts.

The 24th-ranked Irish pulled away to grab the top two doubles matches, taking a point that proved to be crucial 3 hours later when A&M's rally came up short in Notre Dame's 4-3 victory at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

A&M's No. 1 doubles team of Tiffany Clifford and Christi Liles had a chance to put some pressure on the nation's top-ranked duo, Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft. The Aggies broke to start the match and led 2-1, but the Irish bounced back to break Clifford's serve from 40-0. In the next game, Buck climbed out of a 0-40 hole to hold serve as Notre Dame rolled to an 8-3 win.

"I felt like that's where we gave it away," Kleinecke said. "We need to come out and make them play balls. If we do that and they beat us, then we can take that. When we give it away, that's a different story. I felt like at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, we just kind of gave them away."

A&M's Anna Blagodarova and Michelle Sammons overcame a slow start and broke serve to pull within 4-3 at No. 2 doubles. But Sammons double-faulted on break point in the next game, and the Irish rolled to an 8-3 victory that clinched the doubles point.

"Our kids played a great return game to break, and that was big," Notre Dame coach Jay Louderback said. "The crowd was getting into it, and [the Aggies] were on a roll. I thought that was the biggest part of the doubles."

The Aggies got their first point at No. 6 singles, with Sammons winning on a default after Kristen Rafael injured her ankle at 5-5 in the first set.

Notre Dame quickly pushed its lead to 3-1 when Tefft beat Elze Potgieter 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 and Colleen Rielley beat Clifford 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4.

Freshmen Morgan Frank and Liles won their singles matches to forge a 3-3 tie. At No. 5, Frank beat 114th-ranked Kali Krisik 7-5, 6-2 for her first victory over a ranked player. Meanwhile at No. 3, Liles rallied to beat 105th-ranked Cosmina Ciobanu 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

"[Frank and Liles] have been solid for us all year long," Kleinecke said. "They're two feisty individuals who compete very well."

Moments before Liles tied the overall team score, Blagodarova led 3-1 in the third set against Buck at No. 2 singles.

But Buck won the last five games to capture the match. Blagodarova double-faulted on the last two points of her final service game, then Buck held serve to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

"This is a tough loss," Kleinecke said. "We've gotta compete at all nine positions for us to have shots at winning matches against good teams. They're not going to give you anything, and you can't give anything up easy."

Notre Dame 4, Texas A&M 3

Saturday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

Doubles

(Notre Dame wins the doubles point)

1. Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft, ND, def. Tiffany Clifford and Christi Liles 8-3; 2. Kali Krisik and Kristen Rafael, ND, def. Anna Blagodarova and Michelle Sammons 8-3; 3. Cosmina Ciobanu and Colleen Rielley, ND, def. Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank 8-7 (2).

Singles

1. Tefft, ND, def. Elze Potgieter 6-3, 6-0; 2. Buck, ND, def. Blagodarova 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; 3. Liles, A&M, def. Ciobanu 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; 4. Rielley, ND, def. Clifford 6-1, 6-3; 5. Frank, A&M, def. Krisik 7-5, 6-2; 6. Sammons, A&M, def. Rafael 5-5, injury default.

Order of finish: D1, D2, D3, S6, S1, S4, S5, S3, S2* (*clinched match)

• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.

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