May 1, 2011
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BIG EAST Final – Video Recap
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 30th-ranked and second-seeded University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to Louisville in the BIG EAST Championship match Sunday at the Courtney Tennis Center in Notre Dame, Ind. Freshman Greg Andrews (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) maintained a perfect 3-0 record at fourth singles during the tournament and downed Robert Hall in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
“Obviously we are disappointed that we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity we had today,” head coach Bobby Bayliss said. “We this loss and it will stay with us for a while. My hope is that it will be our motivating factor for us to do well in the NCAA Championships. There are some real positives to take out of today’s match, particularly our performances at third and fourth singles and I thought Stephen Havens had a great weekend, even though he lost 6-3 in the third set today. I think we can demonstrate a lot more punch in the lower part of the lineup that we saw this weekend. I believe our guys are better than they showed today and we need that.”
The second doubles duo of Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) picked up their third win of the weekend as they defeated Alejandro Calligari and Hall in an 8-4 decision. These same second doubles teams met on April 23, when the Irish traveled to Louisville for their final regular season match and Watt and Havens fell 8-4, but redeemed themselves Sunday with the convincing 8-4 victory.
The top doubles team put on perhaps the most exciting doubles match of the weekend as sophomore Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) and junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) fell behind to Simon Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk, but battled back to take the lead at 6-5, but the Cardinals tandem didn’t give up and evened the match back out at 7-7 and eventually earned the victory at 9-7.
With the doubles at one a piece, senior Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) and Andrews were trailing Austen Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk, but had picked up a win to make the match 7-4, but unfortunately the Cardinals had built too much of a lead and Louisville clinched the win with an 8-5 decision and claimed an early 1-0 lead over the Irish as the teams entered the singles portion of the match.
“The doubles came down to a ball here and a ball there,” Bayliss said. “Had we won the doubles point, we could have had a completely different outcome. We have to put the disappointment behind us and move into to NCAA Tournament knowing that we are capable of playing pretty good tennis.”
Watt and A. Childs were paired up at the No. 1 position and A. Childs improved the Cardinals score to 2-0 as the 15th-ranked senior defeated Watt in consecutive 6-1 sets.
Stahl faced S. Childs at third singles for the second time this season and although the Notre Dame senior dropped 6-3, 6-4 during the April 23rd match, he turned the tables this time around, handing S. Childs a 6-3, 6-2 loss.
With the score at 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals, Andrews forced Hall to fight for every point he earned, which wasn’t enough as Andrews picked up a 6-4, 6-3 victory and evened the score at 2-2. Hall is 0-2 versus Andrews this season as the Notre Dame freshman downed Hall, 6-2, 6-1 on April 23.
“Greg is playing great tennis right now,” associate head coach Ryan Sachire. “He came in as a highly touted recruit in the fall and has put in the effort, time and work and as a result, he has certainly taken his game to the next level and that was apparent today. He will have a very bright future here at Notre Dame and the next step for him is to play well in the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks.”
Sophomore Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest) was defeated by Andrew Carter at sixth singles in a two-set match, 6-2, 6-2. The victory gave the Cardinals a 3-2 edge over the Irish, but with two matches still yet to be finished.
On the court of second singles, Havens and Maksimcuk had split the first two sets with a win apiece as Maksimcuk won 6-2 in the first set, followed by a 6-1 victory for Havens. The Irish senior was on a winning streak as he earned a 3-0 victory in the third set, but unfortunately was unable to hold onto the lead as Maksimcuk won 6-3 to clinch the match for Louisville.
With sophomore Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill) having lost a close first set, 7-6 (9-7) to Calligari in the first set and the second set at 3-2 when the match was halted, the match could have come down to the wire at fifth singles.
The Irish move to 17-11 on the season and at No. 30 in the ITA/Campbell national rankings, the Irish have made a strong case to joine the NCAA Championship field for the 20th time in 21 seasons by virtue of an at-large bid. The NCAA Division I Tennis Championships Selection Show is scheduled to reveal the 2011 field between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 3. Check back to und.com for more details once the Irish learn their postseason fate.
Doubles:
1. Simon Childs/Viktor Maksimcuk (UofL) def. Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND), 8-7
2.Casey Watt/Stephen Havens (ND) def. Alejandro Calligari/Robert Hall (UofL), 8-4
3.Austen Childs/Adam Donaldson (UofL) def. Greg Andrews/Daniel Stahl (UofL), 8-5*
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
Singles:
1. Austen Childs (UofL) def. Casey Watt (ND), 6-1, 6-1
2.Viktor Maksimcuk (UofL) def. Stephen Havens (ND), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3*
3.Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Simon Childs (UofL), 6-3, 6-2
4.Greg Andrews (ND) def. Robert Hall (UofL), 6-4, 6-3
5.Sam Keeton (ND) vs. Alejandro Calligari (UofL), 7-6 (7), 3-2 DNF
6.Andrew Carter (UofL) def. Blas Moros (ND), 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 4, 6, 2*
Duration of Match: 2:35
–ND–