Sept. 17, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish men’s tennis team will open their 2009 fall schedule in Chicago, Ill. when they begin play at the Illinois/Olympia Fields Invitational on Friday, September 18. The three-day tournament will be held at the Olympia Fields Country Club.
The seven Notre Dame veterans expected to participate include senior Takashi Yoshii (Tokyo, Japan/The American School in Japan), juniors David Anderson (Sandwich, MA/Sandwich H.S.), Tyler Davis (Nashville, TN/Father Ryan H.S.), Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, OH/Hill Christian School), Matt Johnson (Portage, MI/Portage Central H.S.) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman H.S.), as well as sophomore Casey Watt (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland). The Notre Dame head coach Bobby Bayliss and associate head coach Ryan Sachire will also get their first look at incoming freshmen Michael Moore (Glenview, IL/Glenbrook South), Blas Moros (Boca Raton, FL/Pine Crest School), Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, CA/Junipero Serra) as they make their collegiate debut at the Illinois/Olympia Fields Invitational.
In addition to the ten Notre Dame players, the field includes student-athletes from Miami, Florida State, Northwestern and the host institution, Illinois. All five team made NCAA postseason play in 2008, while Illinois, Miami and Florida State made it to the Sweet 16.
Leading the Irish against the field will be Watt and Havens, who are ranked at No. 90 and No. 98 in the ITA preseason singles rankings. Illinois will feature sophomore Dennis Nevolo, ranked No. 24, and senior Marek Czerwinski, who is ranked No. 97. The Seminoles counter with senior Jean-Yves Aubone, who enters the tournament at No. 8 in the preseason rankings. Carl Sundberg carries a No. 79 preseason singles ranking into the weekend for the Hurricanes. Finally, Norwestern returns five starters from last season’s squad, which made its first NCAA appearance since 2005.
Aside from featuring a talented field for the student-athletes and coaches to gauge their early season progress against, the tournament offers the unique experience of playing clay court matches. Admission to the three-day event is free. Results can be accessed at: http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-tennis/OFCCILLInvite_Schedule.htm, while daily recaps of Notre Dame’s performances will be posted on und.com.
Tournament Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 18
Doubles 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Singles play begins at 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Singles 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Singles play resumes at 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 20
Singles and Doubles – TBA
— ND —