Veteran player and only senior on the Irish will serve as the team captain in 2004-05 ... has been a contributor in both singles and doubles throughout her career ... has been a key to Notre Dame's dual-match fortunes, playing a variety of big matches ... confidence is a key in her game ... worked on her serve to make it more of a weapon ... strong player who works very hard ... hits the ball hard, but is very consistent ... an all-BIG EAST selection in both singles and doubles in 2003 ... was an extremely difficult player to beat in her sophomore season, when she rallied to win after losing the first set on nine occasions, including a 7-0 midseason stretch in matches where she dropped the opening frame ... holds a 27-13 career record in home singles matches ... has rallied to win after dropping the opening set 17 times ... is 48-6 when winning the first set ... carries 3.439 cumulative grade-point average and is a member of Notre Dame's Academic Honors for Student-Athletes ... three-year monogram winner. AS A JUNIOR: Helped Irish at the bottom of both lineups in 2003-04, playing Nos. 5 and 6 singles, as well as No. 3 doubles ... finished 14-17 in singles, including 7-12 in dual action (3-6 at No. 5, 4-6 at No. 6) ... posted 16-15 mark in doubles, including 11-9 in dual play (all at No. 3), and led team with six clinching victories ... started season teaming with Kristina Stastny, ranked 43rd in the preseason, and went 12-11 together ... opened spring with wins in four of first five matches (two clinching) ... clinched doubles point against Indiana ... won in tiebreaker against Tennessee ... in fall play, lost in round of 16 at adidas Invitational and finished fourth in blue flight of Kentucky Fall Classic ... won at No. 3 in exhibition match against USC ... reached round of 16 in ITA Midwest Championships before falling to #6 Grier/Rush of Northwestern ... lost two of three in Illinois Midwest Blast ... paired with Emily Neighbours for the final month of season, going 4-4 ... clinched doubles point against William & Mary and #11 Northwestern ... also won in BIG EAST semifinals against Virginia Tech and NCAA first round vs. Iowa ... doubles point came down to a tiebreaker (lost 7-5) in their match in NCAA second round vs. #9 Northwestern ... in singles, started spring at No. 5 before moving to No. 6 on March 10 ... top win at the higher slot came against Karie Schlukebir of Indiana ... lost three-setter (7-5 in third set) against Leanne Rutherford in clinching match of Michigan's season-opening victory ... at No. 6, lost just three games in defeating Sihem Bennacer in helping the Irish to a win over Miami ... lost 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 to Kristen Dunbar of William & Mary with the match tied 3-3 ... also fell in the final match on court of a 4-3 decision against Purdue, losing a third-set tiebreaker against Melissa Woods ... had final three matches of the season abandoned ... was 13-1 when winning the opening set. AS A SOPHOMORE: Proved integral to Irish in 2002-03 as most consistent singles winner, making a habit of rallying from deficits for thrilling victories ... led Notre Dame in singles wins with 25-12 record, including team-best 17-7 dual-match mark, playing the bottom three positions ... earned BIG EAST all-tournament honors in both singles and doubles ... started season at No. 5, playing there for most of the year prior to filling the No. 4 spot in the postseason ... won 12 of final 14 matches, including nine-match winning streak ... rallied from 6-0 first-set defeat for victory over Hadley MacFarlane with the match tied 3-3 vs. BYU ... came back to win after losing the first set a total of nine times, highlighted by a 7-0 midseason streak in matches in which her opponent won the first set ... provided lone Irish singles triumph vs. North Carolina ... had victory in 4-3 win over Iowa ... in BIG EAST title match, won the first set before losing the second and falling behind 5-1 in the third, but rallied by winning six straight games for a thrilling triumph over Staci Stevens at No. 4, helping the Irish to a 4-3 victory ... also had victories against Tennessee, Wake Forest, Arizona State, William & Mary, and Illinois ... in fall action, reached round of 16 in OSU/Prince Cup and "das" flight of adidas Invitational ... won consolation title in blue flight of Eck Classic ... was 8-3 in three-setters on the year ... posted 16-1 mark when winning the opening set ... won all five match tiebreakers she played ... was 17-12 in doubles, moving in and out of the No. 3 position throughout the spring ... playing No. 2 in the postseason, teamed with Kristina Stastny for biggest Notre Dame victory of season, holding on for 8-6 win over de Villiers/Smith in the final match on court with the score tied 3-3 vs. Miami in the BIG EAST final ... the pair was 5-3 together ... started the spring playing with Jennifer Smith at No. 3 ... helped Irish win doubles point against North Carolina ... the two played together throughout the fall season, going 9-4 ... reached semifinals of OSU/Prince Cup and Eck Classic. AS A FRESHMAN: Provided solid results in both singles and doubles for Irish in first collegiate season ... posted 22-15 overall mark in singles, playing mostly at No. 6 ... defeated Bernadette Bayani of USC to clinch 5-2 Irish upset of #7 Trojans in National Team Indoor Championships ... put together midseason streak of seven straight wins, including clinching victories over Wisconsin and Ohio State ... also notched wins against Wake Forest, William & Mary, and Texas ... dropped three-set decision to Ruth Barnes in last match on court of Northwestern's 4-3 defeat of the Irish ... posted wins at No. 5 against Air Force and Texas ... won six of first seven collegiate singles matches and went on to lead Irish with eight fall victories ... advanced through qualifying to the singles main draw of the Omni Hotels Region IV Championships ... was 23-19 in doubles, including 17-11 in dual matches, playing with three different partners ... her 17 dual-match wins in doubles matched the second-highest total ever by an Irish freshman ... shared team lead with six clinching victories ... from mid-February to the end of the season, played with Alicia Salas at No. 3, putting together a 14-6 mark ... won 10 of first 11 matches together ... in last month of season, clinched doubles point in last match on court vs. #19 Northwestern, #14 William & Mary and Miami (BIG EAST final) ... helped Irish win doubles point in 4-3 regular-season victories over Illinois and Miami ... teamed with Katie Cunha for first eight matches of spring after a successful fall season together ... provided clinching win in last match on court with 8-6 upset victory over Anita Loyola/Luana Magnani at No. 2 in Notre Dame's 5-2 victory over USC ... advanced to the semifinals of the Region IV Championships, leading to a national ranking of 53rd ... paired with Becky Varnum for one match in the Eck Classic. IN NON-COLLEGIATE ACTION: Reached singles quarterfinals in '03 ITA Summer Circuit event at Notre Dame. HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Ranked 31st in singles and fourth in doubles in United States Tennis Association national 18s rankings ... won 1998 National Indoor doubles title with current Vanderbilt player Aleke Tsoubanos ... that pair also finished second at '98 National Clay Court doubles championships and third at 2000 National Hardcourt doubles championships ... also reached final of 2000 Easter Bowl ... four-year MVP at Bishop McGuinness High School ... led team to three state titles ... also won three state singles titles ... first three-time girls' high school player of the year in Oklahoma City ... did not lose a singles match until her junior year ... lost one match in both her junior and senior seasons ... sister Lauren is a junior on Irish tennis team ... one of just six pairs of sisters to play on the team at the same time, including teammates Catrina and Christian Thompson ... from same hometown as former Irish women's tennis All-American Jennifer Hall (1996-99) ... brother Andy is a freshman on the Tulsa tennis team and father Jim played baseball at Oklahoma State ... three uncles graduated from Notre Dame ... cousins J. Robert and Joe Ross Merritt play basketball for Samford ... member of National Honor Society ... born Aug. 2, 1982, in Oklahoma City, Okla. ... a member of Notre Dame's Academic Honors Program for Student-Athletes ... three times tabbed a BIG EAST Academic All-Star ... carries 3.439 cumulative grade-point average ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as a marketing major. Sarah Jane Connelly's Career Record
| Singles |
| Year | Dual | Open | Overall |
| 2001-02 | 14-12 | 8-3 | 22-15 |
| 2002-03 | 17-7 | 8-5 | 25-12 |
| 2003-04 | 7-12 | 7-5 | 14-17 |
| Career | 38-31 | 23-13 | 61-44 |
| Doubles |
| Year | Dual | Open | Overall |
| 2001-02 | 17-11 | 6-8 | 23-19 |
| 2002-03 | 8-8 | 9-4 | 17-12 |
| 2003-04 | 11-9 | 5-6 | 16-15 |
| Career | 36-28 | 20-18 | 56-46 |
