Oct. 21, 2016
By Joanne Norell
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team got off to a strong start on the first full day of play at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships at the Varsity Tennis Center at Ohio State on Friday.
The Irish went 6-4 in singles play, while turning in a 3-2 mark in doubles to kick off main draw play.
In singles, fourth-seeded and No. 70-ranked senior Josh Hagar defeated Detroit’s Atem Vasheshnikov, 6-3, 6-4; 18th-seed sophomore Alex Lebedev upended Wisconsin’s Darius MacKenzie, 6-2, 6-0; freshman and 21st ranked Johnathan Small downed Illinois-Chicago’s Carl Hedstrom, 6-4, 6-4; 24th-seeded freshman Guillermo Cabrera ousted Illinois State’s Andreas Boers, 7-5, 6-2; and freshman Matt Gamble scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23rd-seeded Nico Mostardi of Cleveland State.
In doubles, 11th-seeded Gamble and Lebedev defeated Michigan State’s Alex Kim and Ivan Rakic, 8-3, while 16th-seeded sophomore Grayson Broadus and Small upended John Zordani and Darius MacKenzie of Wisconsin, 8-4. Cabrera and junior Drew Dawson rounded out the day with a win over Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Joshua Schramm and Ivan Radomirovic, 8-2.
Earlier in the day, junior Brendon Kempin played his way into the singles main draw with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Valparaiso’s Kyle Dunn in the third round of qualifying.
Play continues Saturday beginning with consolation matches at 7 a.m. ET and two rounds each of singles and doubles.
ITA Midwest Regional Championships presented by Oracle
Varsity Tennis Center
Columbus, Ohio
Oct. 20-24, 2016
Main Draw Singles Round of 64
[4] No. 70 Josh Hagar (ND) def. Artem Vasheshnikov (DET), 6-3, 6-4
[18] Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Darius MacKenzie (WIS) 6-2, 6-0
[21] Johnathan Small (ND) def. Carl Hedstrom (UIC), 6-4, 6-4
[24] Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Andreas Boers (ISU) 7-5, 6-2
Matt Gamble (ND) def. [23] Nico Mostardi (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
[3] No. 65 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Daniel Rayl (ND), 6-2, 6-3
Luke Smrek (MARQ) def. [12] Eddy Covalschi (ND), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Riley Reist (OSU) def. [20] Grayson Broadus (ND), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Lamar Remy (WIS) def. Brendon Kempin (ND), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Main Draw Doubles Round of 64
[11] Matt Gamble / Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Alex Kim / Ivan Rakic (MSU), 8-3
[16] Grayson Broadus / Johnathan Small (ND) def. John Zordani / Darius MacKenzie (WIS), 8-4
Guillermo Cabrera / Drew Dawson (ND) def. Joshua Schramm / Ivan Radomirovic (WGB), 8-2
[7] Runhao Hua / Myles Schalet (UM) def. Daniel Rayl / Conor Somers (ND), 8-3
[14] Maik Steiner / Jannik Opitz (WMU) def. Nathan Griffin / Brendon Kempin (ND), 8-3
[1] No. 26 Josh Hagar / Eddy Covalschi (ND), bye
Qualifying Singles Round 1
[3] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Elliot Sprecher (WIS), 6-2, 6-1
Drew Dawson (ND) def. Omar Espinosa (TOL), 6-2, 6-2
Nathan Griffin (ND) def. Benjamin Slade (CSU), 6-2, 6-3
Thomas Rodrigues (YSU) def. Conor Somers (ND), 6-3 6-3
Qualifying Singles Round 2
[3] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Thomas Rodrigues (YSU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Nathan de Veer (DEP) def. Drew Dawson (ND), 6-2, 6-2
Nathan Ponton (DET) def. Nathan Griffin (ND) 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
Qualifying Singles Round 3
[3] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Kyle Dunn (VU), 6-4, 6-3
— 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.