Sept. 23, 2011
Tom Fallon Invitational
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s tennis team opened up the Tom Fallon Invitational in impressive fashion on Friday, winning eight of nine singles matches and three of four doubles contests.
Six of the singles matches ended in straight-set wins as junior Blas Moros (6-1, 6-3), sophomore Ryan Bandy (6-1, 6-0), freshman Wyatt McCoy (6-1, 6-0), junior Michael Moore (6-4, 6-3), junior Spencer Talmadge (6-4, 6-3) and freshman Douglas Barnard (6-0, 6-1) claimed two-set victories.
Freshman Michael Fredericka dropped the first set, 6-0, to Willi Peter of Illinois State, but rebounded to dominate the final two sets, 6-1, 10-1, to claim the three-set win.
Notre Dame’s lone loss in singles turned out to be the best match of the day as Western Michigan’s Pablo Olivarez defeated sophomore Billy Pecor, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11.
In doubles play Bandy and Moros picked up a close victory over Cleveland State’s Matt Kuelker and Jorg Van der Vloet, 8-6, while Barnard and Fredericka took down Marquette’s Thibault Troude and Cam Tehrani, 8-5. The final doubles victory of the day for the Irish saw McCoy and Moore defeat Illinois State’s Muddappa Appanervanda and Skip Span, 8-4. Bandy and Talmadge suffered the only doubles loss on the day, 8-6, to Marquette’s Jonathan Schwerin and Vukasin Teofanovic.
Day two action gets underway at 9 a.m. at Courtney Tennis Center.
SINGLES:
Blas Moros (ND) def. Ali Shabib (CSU) 6-1,6-3
Ryan Bandy (ND) def. Drake Kakar (MU) 6-1,6-0
Michael Fredericka (ND) def. Willi Peter (ISU) 0-6,6-1,10-1
Wyatt McCoy (ND) def. Vukasin Teofanovic (MU) 6-1,6-0
Pablo Olivarez (WMU) def. Billy Pecor (ND) 3-6,6-3,13-11
Michael Moore (ND) def. Cam Tehrani (MU) 6-4,6-3
Spencer Talmadge (ND) def. Skip Span (ISU) 6-4,6-3
Douglas Barnard (ND) def. Jay Jones (CSU) 6-0,6-1
DOUBLES:
Bandy/Moros (ND) def. Kuelker/Van der Vloet (CSU) 8-6
Barnard/Fredericka (ND) def. Troude/Tehrani (MU) 8-5
McCoy/Moore (ND) def. Appanervanda/Span (ISU) 8-4
Schwerin/Teofanovic (MU) def. Bandy/Talmadge (ND) 8-6
Land Rover Napa Valley Tennis Classic
ST. HELENA, Calif. – Facing some extremely talented USTA junior players, four members of the Notre Dame men’s tennis team battled hard all day, pushing the young guys to three sets in three matches, as the Irish finished 2-2 on day one of the Land Rover Napa Valley Tennis Classic in St. Helena, Calif.
Senior Sam Keeton picked up the lone win against the USTA juniors, battling back after losing the first set, 2-6, to knock off Michael Redlicki from Hawthorn Woods, Ill., 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Fellow senior Casey Watt claimed the first set against Nikko Madregallejo, 4-6, but couldn’t hold off the Monrovia, Calif., product, losing in a close three setter, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Niall Fitzgerald also battled a tough USTA junior player, Mitchell Krueger, but struggled after claiming a tight first set, losing, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1.
The only Notre Dame player to not face a USTA junior player was sophomore Greg Andrews, who won in two sets over Vanderbilt’s Alex DiValerio, 6-3, 6-4.
“If we’re going to come all the way out here we may as well play the best we can,” said head coach Bobby Bayliss, who is beginning his 25th year of coaching at Notre Dame. “The USTA kids are obviously very talented and one thing we don’t see a lot from the juniors typically is good doubles play and we’re seeing some great doubles from them today.”
Including the tough competition, Bayliss praised the tournament across the board.
“I just think it’s absolutely fantastic,” he said. “And the venue couldn’t be more special. Our guys were talking about the host families and the homes. It’s like something you’d see in a magazine. You’ve got great competition, great people and warm weather. It’s really the triple crown right there. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Day two at the Land Rover Napa Valley Tennis Classic begins at 10:30 a.m. (PT).
Singles
Nikko Madregallejo (USTA, Monrovia, Calif.) def. Casey Watt (Notre Dame), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Greg Andrews (Notre Dame) def. Alex DiValerio (Vanderbilt), 6-3, 6-4
Sam Keeton (Notre Dame) def. Michael Redlicki (USTA, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Mitchell Krueger (USTA) def. Niall Fitzgerald (Notre Dame), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1
FRIDAY’S TEAM TALLY
USTA Juniors: 5-3
Cal: 3-1
UCLA: 3-1
Tulsa: 2-2
Notre Dame: 2-2
Tennessee: 1-3
Vanderbilt: 0-4
–ND–