Jan. 20, 2006
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#26 Notre Dame (0-0) vs. #51 Northwestern (3-1)Saturday, January 21, 6 p.m. (CST) • Combe Tennis Center, Evanston, Illinois
IRISH SET TO COMMENCE DUAL-MATCH PLAY ON SATURDAY AT NORTHWESTERN: The 26th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team will open the dual-match portion of the 2005-06 campaign this weekend when it travels to #51 Northwestern (3-1) for a 6 p.m. (CST) contest on Saturday in the Combe Tennis Center. The Irish – fresh off one of the best falls in program history – return seven of eight starters from last year’s squad that was 18-8, won its second consecutive BIG EAST championship, and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons.
NORTHWESTERN AT A GLANCE: Northwestern, ranked 51st, already has played four matches this season, beating Illinois-Chicago (7-0), Ball State (5-2), and DePaul (7-0), and losing to Louisville (2-5) … the Wildcats have back four of eight starters from last year’s team that was 12-13, finished fourth in the Big Ten, and lost to Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to finish 47th in the rankings … gone from that team is Thomas Hanus, who finished 2004-05 ranked 78th nationally in singles … head coach Paul Torricelli is in his 23rd season at Northwestern and has a 321-232 (.580) record, including 7-13 against Notre Dame.
NOTRE DAME-NORTHWESTERN SERIES NOTES: Notre Dame and Northwestern will meet for the 16th consecutive season and the 75th time overall, which makes the Wildcats the most-common opponent in the 84-year history of Irish men’s tennis until ND faces Michigan State for the 75th time on Feb. 15 … Notre Dame holds a 37-36-1 advantage in the all-time series … the Wildcats are up 18-14-1 in Evanston, but the Irish have won in their last three visits … the last NU home win was a 5-2 triumph in 1998 in a battle of top-25 teams (NU was 21st, ND was 23rd) … the Irish have won six of the last seven meetings, with the lone defeat a 4-3 come-from-behind win for the Wildcats in the Eck Tennis Pavilion in 2003 … NU trailed 3-1 in that match, but won a trio of three-setters for the win … Notre Dame won the first-ever meeting, 4-3 in 1927 at home … the Irish are 12-1 when carrying a higher national ranking, with the lone defeat coming in 1994, when #46 Northwestern prevailed 4-3 at home over 14th-ranked ND … only Michigan (41) has more victories over the Irish than Northwestern does … ND head coach Bob Bayliss is 12-4 against Northwestern … last year, #23 ND won 5-2 in the Eck Tennis Pavilion over #40 NU in Bayliss’ 600th career victory … Thomas Hanus and Adam Schaechterle won 8-5 at No. 2 to give the Wildcats the doubles point, but the Irish then won all of the bottom five singles matches, with Patrick Buchanan clinching the victory with a three-set win at No. 6.
IRISH ONLY DI SQUAD WITH FOUR PLAYERS BOASTING TOP-15 RANKINGS: Notre Dame is the only Division I school to feature four different players that currently boast a national top-15 ranking in singles and/or doubles. Plus, for the first time ever, the Irish have two players among the top 15 nationally in singles, as junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) is #8 and sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) came in 14th in the latest edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), which were released on Jan. 10. In addition, the Irish have a top-15 squad in doubles, with senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) – who is also 65th in singles – and junior Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.), a St. Joseph’s High School graduate, at 12th.
ND BEGINS SPRING AT 26TH IN FILA COLLEGIATE TENNIS RANKINGS: The Irish are 26th in the first set of Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), which were released on Jan. 10. Notre Dame was one of the biggest movers in the poll – which will be determined by coaches voting until the ITA’s computer takes over the listing on March 7 – as no other team in the preseason top 35 rose as many spots from last year’s final rankings.
It is the 15th consecutive season that the Irish are listed in the preseason ITA rankings, but the highest ND has appeared in them since beginning the 2001-02 campaign at #7. It is also the 11th time in the last 15 years that Notre Dame will begin in the national top 30. The 11-spot rise for the Irish from last year’s final rankings is the largest such jump in program history. Twice before Notre Dame had moved up nine spots in the preseason rankings (from 31st to 22nd in 1999-2000; from 16th to seventh in 2001-02). The Irish and newcomer Louisville (ranked 32nd) give the BIG EAST Conference multiple nationally-ranked squads for the first time since the final poll of 2003-04 (ND 33rd, Virginia Tech 48th, Miami 49th). The last time two BIG EAST schools were ranked among the top 35 was March 26, 2004 (ND 26th, Miami 30th). In all, 16 of Notre Dame’s 19 regular-season opponents were listed in the preseason rankings, with seven ranking in the top 25: #1 Virginia, #4 Illinois, #8 Duke, #11 Florida State, #13 Texas A&M, #18 Ohio State, and #22 Texas.
BASS, PARBHU MAKE ND ONE OF THREE TEAMS WITH TWO PLAYERS AMONG TOP 15 NATIONALLY IN SINGLES: Notre Dame is one of just three schools – along with #1 Virginia and #3 Georgia – that have multiple players ranked among the national top 15 in singles. Junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) is #8 and sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) came in 14th in the latest edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), which were released on Jan. 10. It is the first time two Irish players have been in the national top 15 at the same time. Senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) is 65th, putting ND in an elite group of just four teams – along with Virginia, #4 Illinois, and #6 Mississippi – to have three in the top 65. Bass is the highest-ranked Irish singles player since Ryan Sachire entered his final collegiate season (1999-2000) ranked #2. The current junior is only the third ND student-athlete – along with Sachire and five-time All-American David DiLucia (’92) – to be ranked among the national top 10 in the ITA singles rankings.
KECKLEY/LANGENKAMP HIGHEST-RANKED ND TEAM SINCE 2001-02: Senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) and junior Ryan Keckley (South Bend,Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.) – listed 12th in the latest edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings – comprise the highest-ranked Notre Dame doubles team since Javier Taborga and Casey Smith concluded their careers in 2001-02 ranked eighth. The current players continue a long tradition of highly-ranked Irish doubles teams, as they are the eighth different pair under head coach Bob Bayliss to be ranked 12th in the nation or higher. Langenkamp has joined an elite group of just 12 Irish players who have been ranked among the national top 65 in both singles and doubles. He earned his second career ranking in doubles, after being 60th for a brief time last spring. Keckley has now been nationally-ranked with three different partners, matching the Irish record held by Andy Zurcher (’94) and Luis Haddock (’04). Keckley is one of just five ND players to earn top-15 rankings with two different partners. In the spring of 2003-04, he and Haddock peaked at 14th, which had been the South Bend native’s career-best ranking.
IRISH HEAD COACH: Bob Bayliss is in his 19th year at Notre Dame with a 327-157 (.676) record, while his 36-year career mark stands at 618-260-1 (.704). He is one of just six active NCAA Division I coaches to boast 600+ career victories. Bayliss has had just one losing season in his career and has seen his teams finish in the top 20 nine times, advancing to the NCAA round of 16 on five occasions, highlighted by a quarterfinal appearance in 1993 and a national runner-up finish in ’92. He also is one of just three coaches in Division I to have led his current team to 14 NCAA tournaments over the last 15 seasons. Bayliss, named national coach of the year in 1980 and ’92, is a four-time ITA Midwest Region coach of the year and 12-time conference coach of the year (five times in the last eight years in the BIG EAST, including 2004 and `05). In his time at Notre Dame, Bayliss’ teams have won 12 conference titles, while his players have earned All-America honors 17 times, won eight national ITA awards, and earned 16 invitations to the NCAA Singles Championship and 11 to the NCAA doubles tournament.
STREAKS: The following streaks are active heading into this weekend:
– Notre Dame has won 42 consecutive true road matches against teams ranked outside the national top 50 or unranked. [last loss: 4/23/91 at Wisconsin, 6-3]
– Eric Langenkamp has won 10 consecutive singles matches in dual-match competition [last loss: 2/29/04 vs. Miami’s Jeremiah Fuller 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-7)]
– Sheeva Parbhu has won seven consecutive singles matches in dual-match competition [last loss: 3/17/05 vs. Illinois’ Monte Tucker 6-2, 7-5]
– Sheeva Parbhu has won 14 consecutive singles matches against players from the Midwest Region (not including his own teammates) [last loss: 3/17/05 vs. Illinois’ Monte Tucker 6-2, 7-5]
– Stephen Bass is 9-0 this season in singles against players from the Midwest Region [last loss: 5/14/05 vs. Louisville’s Damar Johnson 1-6, 6-4, 6-3]
– Stephen Bass has won 13 in a row against lower-ranked players in singles [last loss: 1/30/05 vs. Florida State’s Mat Cloer 6-4, 6-4]
– Eric Langenkamp has won five consecutive tiebreakers in singles [last loss: 9/16/04 vs. William & Mary’s Stephen Ward, second set]
– Sheeva Parbhu has won 17 in a row when winning the opening set (39-2 career record) [last loss: 3/11/05 vs. Boise State’s Ikaika Jobe]
– Stephen Bass is 11-0 this season when winning the opening set (46-2 career record) [last loss: 5/14/05 vs. Louisville’s Damar Johnson 1-6, 6-4, 6-3]
– Yuichi Uda has won six consecutive close sets (6-4, 7-5, or 7-6) [last loss: 10/15/04 vs. Wisconsin’s Brian Ko, 6-4 in third set]
– Stephen Bass has won seven consecutive singles matches at home [last loss: 3/17/05 vs. Illinois’ Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-4]
– Sheeva Parbhu has won seven consecutive singles matches at home [last loss: 3/17/05 vs. Illinois’ Monte Tucker 6-2, 7-5]
– Andrew Roth has won seven consecutive doubles matches at home [only career loss: 9/16/04 with Yuichi Uda, vs. William & Mary’s Sud/Szewczyk 8-5]
– Yuichi Uda has won six consecutive singles matches at home [only career loss: 9/17/04 vs. Purdue’s Scott Warner 6-4, 7-5]
– Stephen Bass is 10-0 in singles in his career at the Courtney Tennis Center.
– Sheeva Parbhu has won 11 consecutive singles matches outdoors [last loss: 3/11/05 vs. Boise State’s Ikaika Jobe]
– Patrick Buchanan has won six consecutive singles matches outdoors [last loss: 4/3/05 vs. SMU’s Henrik Soderberg 6-3, 6-3]
– Patrick Buchanan has won six consecutive singles matches at home [last loss: 3/17/05 vs. Illinois’ Ruben Gonzales 6-2, 5-7, 6-4]
MOST-COMMON OPPONENTS IN IRISH HISTORY: See pdf for the list of most-common opponents faced by Notre Dame in its 84 years of varsity men’s tennis.
MOST WINS AGAINST ONE SCHOOL: See pdf for the list of teams Notre Dame has defeated most in its 84 years of varsity men’s tennis.
MOST LOSSES AGAINST ONE SCHOOL: See pdf for the list of teams that have defeated Notre Dame most in its 84 years of varsity men’s tennis.
START ME UP: Notre Dame has won seven of its last nine season-opening matches and has started 1-0 in each of the last six seasons in which the first dual match was on the opponent’s home court. This will be the second consecutive year that the Irish open their dual-match season playing on their foe’s home court, following a 6-1 win at Indiana in 2005. In his time at Notre Dame, Bob Bayliss’ teams are 10-7 in season-opening matches and 12-5 in road openers.
BASS, PARBHU EXCEL IN NATIONAL INDOORS: Junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) and sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) combined to make Notre Dame one of only two schools (along with Stanford) to have multiple players among the final 16 in the season’s second grand slam, the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Bass knocked off the tournament’s No. 6 seed to become just the second Notre Dame player (along with Ryan Sachire in 2000) ever to reach the quarterfinals of the event. Just six schools – Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Virginia – qualified two players for the 32-player singles draw (none had more than two). This season marked the fourth time – all since 1992 – that Notre Dame has had multiple players in the men’s singles draw of the National Indoor Championships, but the first since 1995. This was the first time that both reached the round of 16.
BASS, PARBHU COMBINE FOR FIRST-EVER ALL-IRISH SINGLES FINAL IN ITA MIDWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) prevailed against his teammate, sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) in the first-ever all-Irish singles final of the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Championships. No ND player had reached the singles final of that event – which features the top talent in the ITA’s Midwest Region – since 1996 (Ryan Sachire), and Bass became the first Irish victor since Andy Zurcher did so in 1993. Bass came away with a 7-5, 6-2 victory in the championship match to snap Parbhu’s 17-match winning streak and join an elite club of just four Notre Dame players who have won that singles title. Notre Dame was the only school to have two players in the quarterfinals, and that duo kept winning. Bass – a semifinalist in 2004 – is the fifth Irish player to reach the semifinals of the ITA Midwest Championships multiple times.
ND STRONG AGAINST TEAMS OUTSIDE TOP 50: Notre Dame will try to continue its success against teams not ranked among the national top 50, particularly when playing on the opponent’s home court. The Irish head into the weekend having won 42 consecutive true road matches against teams ranked below 50th (or which are unranked). The last such defeat dame on April 23, 1991, when an unranked Wisconsin team prevailed 6-3 over the Irish (the ITA ranked only 25 teams at the time). Since the ITA began ranking more than 25 teams in 1993-94, Notre Dame is 33-0 in true road matches against squads ranked below 50th (or unranked). The Irish also are 23-1 in their last 24 matches (dating back to 4/9/03) against non-top-50 teams (regardless of the location of the match). The lone defeat was a 4-3 result against #55 Boise State (which ended the season 31st) in the quarterfinals of last year’s Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic.
NO DOUBLES? NO PROBLEM: Losing the doubles point has not necessarily translated into a loss for Notre Dame, as the Irish are 11-13 over the past two seasons when dropping the match’s initial point. Notre Dame was 5-6 last year, having come back to win after losing the doubles against Wisconsin (6-1), Northwestern (5-2), Michigan State (4-3), Rice (4-3), and Michigan (5-2).
BIG ELEVEN (OR TWELVE)?: Though Notre Dame participates in the BIG EAST Conference in men’s tennis, a glance at the Irish schedule may not bear out that fact. Notre Dame will face only one BIG EAST foe (Louisville) during the regular season, but will take on a total of eight teams from the Big Ten Conference. Only Penn State, Iowa, and Minnesota from the Big Ten will not play the Irish this season. A year ago, Notre Dame played those same eight Big Ten teams, going 6-2. Notre Dame has had a long history of playing the teams that now make up the Big Ten, posting an all-time 315-227-2 (.581) mark in averaging nearly seven matches per season against Big Ten teams in the 84-year history of the program. Head coach Bob Bayliss holds a 139-47 (.747) career mark against current league members. The Irish have played each of the original 10 members of the conference at least 25 times, holding a winning mark against every team but Michigan (25-41).
ND TO FACE THREE TOP-10 TEAMS IN SEASON’S FIRST THREE WEEKS: The Irish will get an early indication of where they stack up among the nation’s elite, as they will use the first three weeks of the spring to take on a trio of teams ranked among the top eight in the first edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, administered by the ITA. Notre Dame will face #1 Virginia on Jan. 27 in Richmond and will then play at #8 Duke on Feb. 5 and at #4 Illinois on Feb. 7.
BRING ON THE BEST … ACTUALLY, WE’LL COME TO YOU: Notre Dame will face seven teams ranked among the national top 25 in the first edition of the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings, with all but one of those matches coming on the road. The Irish will challenge #1 Virginia in Richmond on Jan. 27 and then play true road matches against #4 Illinois (Feb. 7), #8 Duke (Feb. 5), #11 Florida State (March 14), #13 Texas A&M (March 26), and #22 Texas (March 25). Ohio State, ranked 18th, will visit the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Feb. 24. All 11 of Notre Dame’s scheduled road matches during the regular season will be against teams that were in the preseason rankings, as the Irish also have road dates with #31 North Carolina (Feb. 4), #48 Michigan (Feb. 18), #51 Northwestern (Jan. 21), #60 Indiana (March 7), and #68 Ball State (April 9).
TERRIFIC TRIO: The 2005-06 campaign marks the first time ever that Notre Dame had three different players compete in singles action in grand slams in the fall semester. Senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) participated in the singles main draw of the season’s first grand slam, the Polo Ralph Lauren ITA All-American Championships, while junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) and sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) played in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
IRISH BOAST FOUR AMONG TOP 25 SINGLES PLAYERS IN MIDWEST REGION: Notre Dame joined Ohio State as the only schools with four or more singles players listed among the top 25 in the ITA’s Midwest Region rankings, released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in December. Junior Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) led the way at #2, while sophomore Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) was fifth, freshman Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West H.S.) was 13th, and senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) was 22nd. Junior Barry King (Dublin, Ireland/Gonzaga College) would have been ranked, but was listed as having insufficient data since he did not play collegiately during the fall. Bass is the highest-ranked Irish player in the regional singles rankings since Ryan Sachire finished his career in 1999-2000 at #1, which concluded a decade-long span in which ND boasted the region’s top singles player in every season but one. In an almost-unbelievable turn, Langenkamp and junior Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.) were listed just 13th in the regional doubles rankings determined by a committee of head coaches, despite having wins over the teams ranked #2 and #5 in the region and coming in 12th in the national rankings (determined by the ITA’s computer formula).
MEN’S TENNIS “GOLD GAME” SET FOR FEB. 24 vs. #18 OHIO STATE: Notre Dame’s matchup with #18 Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. (EST) has been designated as this season’s men’s tennis “Gold Game,” a distinction created by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council to encourage the entire Notre Dame community to attend particular contests. The match will feature two of the top three teams in the ITA’s Midwest Region, according to the national rankings. OSU – ranked 12th at the time – snapped a six-match losing streak at ND in its last visit, using a trio of three-set victories to rally for a 4-3 win over the 43rd-ranked Irish, who were without their top singles player.
LANGENKAMP WINS ITA SUMMER NATIONALS: Senior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) claimed the singles title in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Summer Championships, presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) last month at Indiana University. Among the highlights of his run were wins against Steven Peretz (who played Nos. 4-6 for Michigan last spring), Ryan Preston (Nos. 4-5 for Vanderbilt in ’05), top-seeded Paul Rose (Purdue’s No. 1 player who is ranked 54th in the preseason ITA listing), Will Gray (Nos. 3-6 for Tulsa in ’05), and Eric Hechtman (Nos. 2-3 for Miami in `05). The championship earned Langenkamp – who combined with sophomore Yuichi Uda (Wesley Chapel, Fla./Laurel Springs School [CA]) to make Notre Dame the only school with two players among the final 16 in the singles draw – wild-card entry into the main draw of the first grand slam of the 2005-06 collegiate season, the Polo Ralph Lauren ITA All-American Championships. It was the first time an Irish player ever won a title in the tournament.
BUCHANAN SERVES AS SOLE TEAM CAPTAIN: Senior Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) was voted team captain for the 2005-06 season. Following three straight years in which Notre Dame had multiple team captains – the only such span in the history of the program – the Irish have now returned to their tradition of having a single team captain. In 84 years of varsity tennis, Notre Dame has had just one team captain in all but 10 seasons, with the most-recent solo captain being Casey Smith in 2001-02. He concluded a 32-year stretch in which all but two seasons saw Notre Dame have exactly one captain.
DOEBLER PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH: Todd Doebler was promoted to associate head coach of the Irish men’s tennis team, it was announced in January. Now in his fourth year on the coaching staff at Notre Dame, he is the first associate head coach in the history of the program, as well as one of just five currently in the Irish athletic department.
IRISH INK SEAN CORRIGAN FOR NEXT SEASON: Long Island’s Sean Corrigan (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach H.S.), who was ranked among the top 25 in the nation in both singles and doubles at the end of 2004, signed a national letter of intent during the early period to enroll at the University of Notre Dame next fall and join its men’s tennis team. Corrigan, a senior at Long Beach High School, finished 2004 ranked 24th in the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) boys’ 16-and-under national rankings in singles, as well as 22nd in doubles (first in the Eastern Section). In prep action, he went undefeated at No. 1 singles last spring for Long Beach.
DAVID DiLUCIA NOW PERSONAL COACH FOR LINDSAY DAVENPORT: A five-time All-American during his four-year career at Notre Dame (1988-92), David DiLucia, left his job with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in December 2005 to become the personal coach of the world’s #1 women’s player, Lindsay Davenport. DiLucia was ranked #1 in both singles and doubles during his collegiate career and then went on to play in the singles main draw in all four professional grand slams before retiring in 2002. During his pro career, DiLucia earned wins over players such as Gustavo Kuerten, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Mark Philippoussis, and David Wheaton.
BAYLISS HONORED BY NAVAL ACADEMY: Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss was recognized recently by the United States Naval Academy, where he was the head tennis coach for 15 years, as well as the school’s head squash coach for four seasons. Navy named one of its varsity tennis courts in his honor and also dedicated a plaque in its squash facility on the occasion of the return to campus by Bayliss, who posted a 19-0 record against Army during his tenure in Annapolis. The long-time Irish mentor visited the Naval Academy during the weekend of Nov. 5, which also featured the football team’s homecoming game, a 49-21 win over Tulane. Though the tennis court had been dedicated previously – when Bayliss was unable to attend – there was a small ceremony held to show it to him. The weekend also featured the squash team’s annual alumni match, the Bowen Cup, and the dedication of a new plaque honoring Bayliss’ service to that team.
BAYLISS AT WIMBLEDON: Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss headed to London, England, last June to participate in a High Performance Continuing Education Program, which was organized by the USA Tennis Coaching Education Department and held in conjunction with The Championships Wimbledon. A total of 15 American coaches who work primarily with junior players took part, with the intent of continuing to work toward the program’s ultimate goal of developing world-class American champions. Bayliss was selected to participate in the continuing education program out of a pool of applicants of coaches who work with talented and highly-ranked junior players.
CHANGES TO THE ITA RANKINGS: The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) recently announced some changes to its national rankings for the 2005-06 season: (1) It will use one set of points for wins and also a tighter set of points, with less gaps. This set of points will be the same set that has been used for the season’s first computer rankings in the past; (2) There will be bonus points awarded for road wins; (3) The rankings that are run at the time of NCAA Championship selections will be run twice and the second run of the rankings will be the published ranking; (4) There will be expanded, unpublished rankings (and values for opponents): 76-125 for team, 126-175 for singles, and 61-90 for doubles; (5) The first computer rankings (for team) will take place 2 weeks earlier on March 8; (6) The singles and doubles rankings from Fall results will go back to being a computer ranking; it had been done by committee vote the past three years.
KEEPING UP WITH NOTRE DAME TENNIS: For the fastest results of Notre Dame tennis matches, call the Notre Dame sports hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #8. The hotline provides schedule and results information for varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the game recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website at www.und.com. The hotline is the first medium updated with the results of each Notre Dame tennis match. In addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting Bo Rottenborn at Rottenborn.2@nd.edu, who also can provide any information about the Irish tennis program.