April 2, 2017
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team collected the 1,200th win in program history on Sunday, defeating IUPUI 7-0 after falling to No. 15 Georgia Tech 4-3 earlier in the afternoon at the Courtney Tennis Center.
How It Happened
Georgia Tech
The Irish (11-8, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) held an early advantage from doubles play, winning matches on Courts 1 and 3 to clinch the point. First, 11th-ranked seniors Josh Hagar and Eddy Covalschi downed Carlos Benito and Christopher Eubanks 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. Then the Irish got the clincher from sophomore Grayson Broadus and junior Brendon Kempin with a 6-3 victory over Carlos Divar and Michael Kay on Court 3.
The Irish snatched a 2-0 lead with the first singles decision. Freshman Guillermo Cabrera defeated Cole Fiegel 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 position.
Georgia Tech (13-3, 5-1 ACC) answered with the next point, however, setting off a domino effect as they won the next four matches. First the ninth-ranked Eubanks rallied from a 4-1 first-set deficit to defeat 45th-ranked Hagar 6-4, 6-1 at the top of the lineup. The Yellow Jackets tied it up on the next point with Daniel Yun collecting a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Irish freshman Johnathan Small at the No. 6 position, then took the lead when Divar downed sophomore Alex Lebedev 6-4, 6-3 on Court 4.
The Yellow Jackets clinched on a 7-6(4), 6-2 win by No. 102 Andrew Li over Covalschi at No. 2.
The Irish picked up the last point as freshman Matt Gamble defeated Benito 6-4, 7-5 on Court 3.
IUPUI
The Irish won the doubles point again – marking the fifth straight match in which they’ve taken a 1-0 lead out of doubles play – snaring shutout wins on Courts 2 and 3. Covalschi and freshman Conor Somers upended Steven Christie and Marcus Nalley 6-0 at the No. 2 spot, while junior Drew Dawson and sophomore Nathan Griffin clinched the point with a win over Matt Moe and Grant Weaver by the same score.
Conor Somers put the Irish up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-2 lead over Furhan Siddiki on Court 6, followed quickly by a 6-0, 6-1 win by Kempin over Steven Christie to make it 3-0.
The Irish clinched the victory on Court 2 with a 6-3, 6-1 victory by Broadus over Jac Newis.
Lebedev kept the Irish rolling with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jose Calero at the No. 1 slot, extending the lead to 5-0. Dawson tacked on with a win of his own, 6-3, 6-3 over Kyle Whittaker. Sophomore Daniel Rayl closed out the match, upending Marcus Nalley 5-7, 6-2, 10-5.
Up Next
The Irish head south next week when they take on Florida State at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Tallahassee, Florida. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. Notre Dame will continue downstate Sunday when they face Miami at noon ET in Coral Gables, Florida.
Scoreboard
No. 15 Georgia Tech 4, No. 43 Notre Dame 3
April 2, 2017
Courtney Tennis Center
Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. No. 9 Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. No. 45 Josh Hagar (ND) 6-4, 6-1
2. No. 102 Andrew Li (GT) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 7-6(4), 6-2
3. Matt Gamble (ND) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-4, 7-5
4. Carlos Divar (GT) def. Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-4, 6-3
5. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Cole Fiegel (GT) 6-3, 6-1
6. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Johnathan Small (ND) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles
1. No. 11 Josh Hagar / Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Carlos Benito / Christopher Eubanks (GT) 6-4
2. Matt Gamble / Alex Lebedve (ND) vs. Cole Fiegel / Andrew Li (GT) 4-5, unfinished
3. Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Carlos Divar / Michael Kay (GT) 6-3
No. 43 Notre Dame 7, IUPUI 0
April 2, 2017
Courtney Tennis Center
Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Jose Calero (IUP) 6-0, 6-2
2. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Jac Newis (IUP) 6-3, 6-1
3. Brendon Kempin def. (ND) Steven Christie (IUP) 6-0, 6-1
4. Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Marcus Nalley (IUP) 5-7, 6-2, 10-5
5. Drew Dawson (ND) def. Kyle Whittaker (IUP) 6-3, 6-3
6. Conor Somers (ND) def. Furhan Siddiki (IUP) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1. Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND) vs. Jac Newis / Kyle Whittaker (IUP) 4-2, unfinished
2. Eddy Covalschi / Conor Somers (ND) def. Steven Christie / Marcus Nalley (IUP) 6-0
3. Drew Dawson / Nathan Griffin (ND) def. Matt Moe / Grant Weaver (IUP) 6-0
— 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 women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.