April 28, 2018
By Joanne Norell
CARY, N.C. – The fourth-seeded and 24th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team saw its mini four-match win streak come to to an end Saturday, falling to No. 1-ranked Wake Forest 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship semifinal at Cary Tennis Park.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wake Forest (24-2) won the doubles point, taking 6-2 wins on Courts 1 and 2.
But the Irish (18-13) battled in singles, holding or trading breaks early in the first sets, though Wake Forest ultimately went ahead on five of six courts.
Wake Forest’s Bar Botzer defeated sophomore Matt Gamble 6-3, 6-2 on Court 4, while sophomore Guillermo Cabrera fell to No. 38 Skander Mansouri 6-3, 6-4 on Court 3. The match was decided on Court 2, as No. 4 Petros Chrysocos came back to defeat freshman Richard Ciamarra 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The Irish put up tough fights on the remaining courts, though the matches went unfinished. At No. 1, 37th-ranked junior Alex Lebedev battled No. 6 Borna Gojo to 6-7(2), 3-4 before the match was abandoned, while freshman Tristan McCormick forced a third set on Court 5 against Alan Gadjiev. On Court 6, junior Grayson Broadus pulled even in the second set after going down 2-5.
The Irish will learn where they are headed next during the NCAA Men’s Tennis Selection Show. The show will stream live on NCAA.com at 5:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 1.
SCOREBOARD
No. 1 Wake Forest 4, No. 4 Notre Dame 0
ACC Championship Semifinal
April 28, 2018
Cary Tennis Park
Cary, N.C.
Singles
1. No. 37 Alex Lebedev (ND) vs. No. 6 Borna Gojo (WF) 6-7(2), 3-4, unfinished
2. No. 4 Petros Chrysocos (WF) def. Richard Ciamarra (ND) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. No. 38 Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) 6-3, 6-4
4. Bar Botzer (WF) def. Matt Gamble (ND) 6-3, 6-2
5. Tristan McCormick (ND) vs. Alan Gadjiev (WF) 3-6, 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) vs. Rezart Cungu (WF) 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
Doubles
1. No. 31 Borna Gojo / Skander Mansouri (WF) def. No. 55 Brendon Kempin / Tristan McCormick (ND) 6-2
2. No. 40 Bar Botzer / Petros Chrysocos (WF) def. Grayson Broadus / Richard Ciamarra (ND) 6-2
3. Guillermo Cabrera / Alex Lebedev (ND) vs. Ian Dempster / Christian Seraphim (WF) 3-5, unfinished
For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and ndmenstennis on Instagram and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.