Kristen Rafael
| School: |
Univ. of Notre Dame |
| Year: |
graduated |
| Home Town: |
Grand Prairie, TX |
| Home State: |
N/A |
| Home Country: |
United States(USA) |
| High School: |
Nolan Catholic |
| Height: |
5-4 |
| Weight: |
|
| Birth Date: |
|
| Dominant Hand: |
Right |
| Major: |
|
| Singles Record: |
34-18 |
| Doubles Record: |
25-13 |
AS A FRESHMAN: Saw limited action in singles matches finishing the season at 8-5 while going 3-2 in dual matches … began the season by winning first four matches before falling to No. 68 Chisako Sugiyama of Michigan (5-7, 2-6) … lost only other matched against a ranked opponent, falling to 19th-ranked Maya Johansson of Georgia Tech (3-6, 4-6) … went 18-11 overall in doubles play, going 6-3 with Cosmina Ciobanu, 3-2 with Colleen Rielley and 9-6 with Kali Krisik … went 0-1 against ranked opponents as she and Krisik lost at No. 2 doubles to 50th-ranked Jana Bielikova and Karolina Fillipiak of Baylor (4-8) … played at No. 3 doubles along with Krisik in the NCAA tournament … first round match was halted, but picked up her first NCAA victory in the second round, defeating Miami’s Michaela Kissell and Jenna Osborne (8-1). HIGH SCHOOL & PERSONAL DATA: Four-year letterwinner at Nolan Catholic High School … named MVP each of her four scholastic seasons … captured district championships all four years … won state titles as a freshman, sophomore and senior … dropped just one match entire high school career … helped Nolan Catholic to state titles as a freshman and sophomore … earned All-American honors as a senior … awarded 2007 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year … member of National Honor Society … three-year member of choir and performed at Carnegie Hall … graduated summa cum laude from high school (top 10-percent of class) … ranked as high as fifth in the 2007 recruiting class by tennisrecruiting.net … captured three major junior championships, including the Texas Summer Grand Slam and the MCB Cotton Bowl Super Championship … awarded the 2006 Sportsmanship Award at the Fort Worth Pro Tennis Classic, 2004 Maureen Connelly Brinker Sportsmanship Award, G14 National Open Sportsmanship Award, G12 Zonals Sportsmanship Award … singles and doubles semifinalist at the 2006 ITF GB1 Jerry Simmons Pan American (G18) … doubles champion at the 2007 ITF Tennis Express (G18) … singles and doubles champion at the Texas Summer Grand Slam (G18) … went undefeated at the USTA Junior Fed Cup Championships (G18) … doubles semifinalist at the 2006 USTA National Hard Court Championships (G18) … singles and doubles National Open champion (G16) … awarded Player of the Year by the Dallas Tennis Association (2001, G12; 2002 and 2003, G14; 2004, G16; 2005 and 2006, G18) … Dallas Morning News and Star Telegram Player of the Year as a senior … third Texas native, and first since 2002, to play for the Irish women's tennis team … born August 19, 1989, in Nederland, TX … daughter of Alex and Elieen Rafael … has a brother Paul (24) … enrolled in first year studies … chose Notre Dame over Harvard, Princeton and Georgia Tech.
