April 3, 2010
DALLAS, Texas – – The Fighting Irish men’s tennis team earned a 5-2 win over the Southern Methodist University Mustangs on Saturday afternoon at the Turpin Tennis Center. With the win, Notre Dame improves to 11-8 on the year and has now recorded five wins in its last six matches.
The Irish used the momentum gained from claiming the doubles point to snap SMU’s three match unbeaten streak and evened the Mustangs’ record at 10-10 on the year. The Irish, who are currently ranked 36th, have now won the last three meetings between the two teams.
In doubles action, Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) fell to Darren Walsh and Adham el-Effendi 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. But Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan H.S) and Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) blanked David Costa and Pablo Perez-Espanaola, 8-0, at No. 2 doubles.
With doubles tied at one win apiece, the match came down to David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman), who lined up at No. 3 doubles versus Artem Baradach and Chris Hooshyar. Anderson and Stahl trailed 7-5, but held and broke serve to make it 7-7. The teams then traded wins to make it 8-8. The Irish duo prevailed in the tie breaker, 8-6.
The Irish then got singles wins from Havens, Stahl and Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School) to clinch the win. Havens downed Costa 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2 singles and Stahl made quick work of Tobias Flood at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-2. Keeton turned in a 6-3, 6-3 win over Perez-Espanaola at No. 5 singles.
With the match decided, Anderson was outlasted at No. 4 singles 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 by Walsh. Sixty-eighth ranked Baradach downed 29th-ranked Watt at No. 1 singles 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7), despite Watt serving for the match in the second set. At sixth singles, freshman Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest School) defeated Hooshyar 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9).
The Irish wrap-up their current nine-match road trip on Monday when they square off against 12th-ranked Texas A&M at 6:00 pm (CT) on Monday, April 5 at the Aggies’ George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. Stats and video coverage of Notre Dame’s showdown with 12th-ranked Texas A&M will be provided through the Aggies’ website, www.aggieathletics.com, and can also be accessed via Notre Dame’s schedule page.
Notes
Notre Dame now leads the all-time series with SMU, 6-3 … Stephen Havens was named the BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Player of the Week on March 31 … The Irish have faced a ranked opponent in 13 of their 19 matches (the Campbell/ITA rankings slot the top-75 teams) … Notre Dame is 8-1 on the season when claiming the doubles point … Notre Dame’s win over Middle Tennessee State University (4-2) in the opening round of the 2010 Blue Gray tournament marked the 700th career win for head coach Bobby Bayliss (now 702-306-1/41 seasons) … Sam Keeton is 11-1 in 2010 dual season singles play … nine of Notre Dame’s 18 matches have been decided by just one point.
#36 Notre Dame 5, SMU 2
Singles
1. #68 Artem Baradach (SMU) def. #29 Casey Watt (ND) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)2. Stephen Havens (ND) def. David Costa (SMU) 6-2, 7-53. #91 Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Tobias Flood (SMU) 6-3, 6-24. Darren Walsh (SMU) def. David Anderson (ND) 2-6, 6-1, 6-35. Samuel Keeton (ND) def. Pablo Perez-Espanaola (SMU) 6-3, 6-36. Blas Moros (ND) def. Chris Hooshyar (SMU) 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9)
Doubles
1. Walsh/el-Effendi (SMU) def. Havens/Watt (ND) 8-52. Fitzgerald/Davis (ND) def. Perez-Espanaola/Costa (SMU) 8-03. Anderson/Stahl (ND) def. Hooshyar/Baradach (SMU) 9-8 (8-6)
–ND–