March 3, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 25th-ranked Irish men’s tennis team plays host to No. 18 Michigan on Wednesday evening at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish will then travel to La Jolla, Calif. to take part in the 120th edition of the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship.
Wednesday’s match versus Michigan will begin at 4:00 p.m. The Irish are looking to rebound from a 4-3 loss to Wisconsin this past Sunday, while the Wolverines will be looking to snap a two-match losing streak, having sustained defeats to 15th-ranked Pepperdine, 5-2, and 41st-ranked Washington, 4-2, on February 25 and 27.
Pepperdine, which defeated the Irish in their season opener by a score of 4-3, and Florida State are Michigan and Notre Dame’s only common opponents on the season. The Wolverines dropped a 4-3 decision to the Seminoles on February 15 in Chicago, Ill. as part of the ITA National Team Indoors. The Seminoles also defeated Notre Dame on January 28 in Notre Dame, Ind. by an identical 4-3 score.
The teams first met on May 9, 1923 when the Wolverines downed the Irish, 5-0. Last season the Irish sustained a loss to then 15th-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, 6-1. Notre Dame is 16-5 all-time versus Michigan under head coach Bobby Bayliss, but the Wolverines lead the all-time series, 42-27.
The Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships will begin on Thursday, March 5 and run through Sunday, March 8 at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla, California. All four of Notre Dame’s teams will begin play at the Pacific Coast Doubles on Friday morning.
Although the field of over 90 teams features many college teams, it is actually an open event that allows top juniors, seniors and teaching professionals to compete. Other college teams fielding doubles tandems in the draw include Pepperdine, UCLA, USC, California, Stanford, Fresno State, San Diego State, UC San Diego, Rice, Villanova, and Boston College.
The teams of Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) and Santiago Montoya (Austin, Texas/St. Stephen’s) and David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Sean Tan (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) will both begin play on Friday against non-collegiate opposition in the round of 128 at 8:00 a.m. (PST).
The teams of Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) as well as Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Matt Johnson (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) have byes into the round of 64. Davis and Helgeson play their first match at 9:30 a.m. (PST) versus Daniel Gliner and Matt Kecki of USC. Fitzgerald and Johnson will take to the courts at 10:00 a.m. (PST) versus open competition.
The semifinals are slated to take place at 10:00 a.m. (PST) on Sunday morning, while the Championship will be contested at 1:00 p.m. (PST). All teams losing their first match will automatically be entered into the consolation draw. The consolation finals are slated for noon start on Sunday.
The Pacific Coast Doubles is the second-oldest tennis event in the United States. It was first held in 1890 at the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California, with the original format pitting players from the East versus those from the West. Past Winners include Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Arthur Ashe, Dennis Ralston, and John McEnroe.
Complete results and recaps of the Michigan match and the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament will be posted at und.com, while live stats for Wednesday’s match will also be available at und.com. Updates of the Pacific Coast Doubles draw will also be available through San Diego’s USTA website: http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=67176
— ND —