Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

#25 Irish Face Vanderbilt In NCAA First Round

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 25th-ranked Irish will take on the No. 38 Commodores of Vanderbilt this Friday, May 3, at 11 a.m. in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Seeded second in their regional, Notre Dame will travel to Ohio State University for the first and second rounds, joining top-ranked Ohio State, Vanderbilt and Cleveland State.

All-time against the Commodores, the Irish hold a narrow edge, boasting a 3-2 record after sweeping them at the ITA Kickoff weekend earlier this season. Notre Dame tallied its second win of the season in the 4-0 win over Vanderbilt on January 26. After clinching the doubles point when Richard Ciamarra and Tristan McCormick topped Freeman/Klinger, 6-3, the team went on to take three singles courts early to advance to the weekend championship. Richard Ciamarra and Guillermo Cabrera quickly tallied points for the Irish before William Howells won the tiebreaker on court five, 7-6(5) to end the match.

The winner of Notre Dame/Vanderbilt will go on to play either Ohio State or Cleveland State in the second round, set for Saturday, May 4. 

Nationally Ranked

  • Missing the later half of the season due to injury, senior Alex Lebedev ranks No. 31 in the nation in collegiate singles, boasting a 15-9 overall record through the 2018-19 season.
  • Richard Ciamarra made his comeback in the final weekend of the regular season after missing seven weeks with injury. The sophomore from Southington, Connecticut, was a key component to the team’s late success and run at the ACC Championships. As of April 30, he is No. 80 in collegiate singles.
  • Stepping up when the team needed him most, Guillermo Cabrera made his debut in the rankings part way through the season. At the final release of the regular season he was No. 118 overall.
  • Irish tandem Richard Ciamarra and Tristan McCormick hold the 24th spot in doubles, posting a strong 12-5 record before both were sidelined with injury in late February. The duo reached as high as ninth overall and plan to compete again at the NCAA doubles tournament at the end of May.

Last Time Out
The Irish are coming off a strong run at the ACC Championships where they swept Virginia Tech in a quick 4-0 match before a battle in the quarterfinals to top-seeded and No. 4 in the country, Wake Forest.