I first sat down with Catrina & Christian (pictured right to left) at the USTA Girls' 18s Nationals in August of 2003. They had taken the third place trophy in doubles there. I had seen them play quite a bit by then and was anxious to talk about the end of their junior tennis careers and the beginning of their lives as Notre Dame freshman. Two years later, I'm happy to catch up with the now college tennis stars.
Catrina & Christian Thompson -- content to be known as the "Thompson Twins" -- finished playing junior tennis with top rankings and titles on every surface. They entered Notre Dame in the fall of 2003 ready to take on the college tennis world. Though they were always a challenge to the opposition, it wasn't until October of 2005 that they won their first national collegiate title. At the Riviera All American Championships, the Thompson Twins became Notre Dame's first winners at that event.
The 21 year old Las Vegas natives finished last season ranked fifth and started their junior year as the second ranked doubles team in the country. They are poised to live up to that placement and are hoping to top it with at least one NCAA doubles championship before their college careers end next year.
The ITA National Indoors didn't go quite as the Thompsons had hoped as they lost in the quarterfinals, but they were still happy to sit down with me to catch up.
by Marcia Frost
