SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Competing back at home this weekend, the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team went a combined 12-3 on the opening day of the Fighting Irish Mini Duals.
Friday action started with everyone playing a round of doubles followed by singles in a partnership. Winning two of the three matches advanced the pair together to the next round. The Irish had three duos win their opening round contests.
Senior pair Matt Che and Connor Fu took on a team from DePaul in their first round. They would start the day with a 6-3 win in doubles before they would each win their singles. Fu was first off the court with a 6-1, 6-3 win before Che completed the 3-0 sweep with a 7-6, 6-4 win.
Sophomore Yu Zhang and Freshman Evan Lee got off to a blistering start with a 6-0 win in doubles over their Indiana opponents. Zhang would show no signs of slowing down with a quick 6-2, 6-0 singles win before Lee could clinch a straight set 6-4, 6-4 win of his own.
Addy Vashistha and Noah Becker would be a team comprised of Luke Bayliss of Michigan State and Irish teammate Jamie Corsillo who was filling in for an injured Spartan. The all-Irish duo would win the doubles. Vashistha would fall to Bayliss in singles but because MSU didn’t have their 2nd player available, Becker won by default and gave the pair the second win needed to advance.
Seniors Matt Halpin and Braeden Ho teamed up in doubles but fell 6-3 to Louisville to start their day. Halpin would play but lose two mirroring 6-4 sets. Corsillo played the second singles and would drop the opening set of play. He would respond though with a 7-6 win in the second set. In the third set match breaker that would be back and forth, each player would save a match point before the Irish sophomore sealed the victory with a 13-11 win.
Notre Dame would continue their good play on the day as they would go 4-0 in the second round of doubles. The singles portion of round 2 will start the day on Saturday at 9am with each pair looking to win at least one of the two matches to advance as a team.
Saturday Schedule – Saturday OOP
Notre Dame Results – Round 1
Notre Dame 3 – DePaul 0
Che/Fu(ND) def. Huck/Iaquinto(DEP) 6-3
Che(ND) def. Huck(DEP) 7-6, 6-4
Fu(ND) def. Iaquinto(DEP) 6-1, 6-3
Notre Dame 3 – Indiana 0
Zhang/Lee(ND) def. Boulier/Meier(IU) 6-0
Zhang(ND) def. Boulier(IU) 6-2, 6-0
Lee(ND) def. Meier(IU) 6-4, 6-4
Notre Dame 2 – Michigan State 1
Vashistha/Becker(ND) def. Bayliss(MSU)/Corsillo(ND) 6-1
Bayliss(MSU) def. Vashistha(ND) 6-4, 7-6(3)
Becker wins by default
Louisville 2 – Notre Dame 1
Mayew/Mizrahi(UL) def. Halpin/Ho(ND) 6-3
Mayew(UL) def. Halpin(ND) 6-4, 6-4
Corsillo(ND) def. Mizrahi(UL) 3-6, 7-6(3), 1-0(11)
Notre Dame Results – Round 2
Che/Fu(ND) def. Honnappa/Pierce(WMU) 6-4
Zhang/Lee(ND) def. Wesbrooks/Steinbach(UL) 6-1
Vashistha/Becker(ND) def. Landau/Kumar(IU) 6-3
Halpin/Ho(ND) def. Kuszynski/Schluter(WMU) 6-3
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