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Irish Split Doubleheader In Home Finale

April 15, 2018

Florida State 4, Notre Dame 3 Get Acrobat Reader | Notre Dame 7, Ball State 0 Get Acrobat Reader | Photo Gallery media-icon-photogallery.gif

By Joanne Norell

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team split its final home doubleheader of the season Sunday. The No. 28 Irish fell in a tight 4-3 match to No. 13 Florida State – in a match-up that featured five tiebreaks – before sweeping in-state opponent Ball State 7-0 to wrap the day.

How It Happened

Florida State
The Irish (15-12, 5-5 ACC) got quick breaks on all three doubles courts, leading to swift victories on Courts 1 and 3. Junior Alex Lebedev and sophomore Guillermo Cabrera started things off with a 6-1 win over Lucas Poullain and Terrell Whitehurst at the three spot, while senior Brendon Kempin and freshman Tristan McCormick followed with a 6-3 decision over No. 86 Aziz Dougaz and Guy Iradukunda.

Florida State (25-2, 9-1 ACC) won first sets on four courts and got the first two singles wins on Courts 5 and 4, respectively, to take a 2-1 lead. Ciamarra evened the score again with his second ranked win of the weekend, however, defeating the 20th-ranked Iradukunda at the No. 2 spot, 6-3, 7-6(2).

The Seminoles got the next two decisions, however, clinching the match at 4-2 with wins at the No. 3 and No. 1 spots. Junior Grayson Broadus closed out the match, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(3) over Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar for his fifth victory in six matches.

Ball State
In the nightcap, the Irish got off to a quick start and never looked back. They won the doubles point with victories on Courts 1 and 2 and led at all three positions to start the match. Ciamarra and Kempin topped the lineup against the Cardinals (13-9) and defeated Collin Rigney and Nemanja Guzina 6-2. Senior Drew Dawson and junior Nathan Griffin followed closely with their own 6-2 win over Tom Carney and Chris Adams on Court 3.

Sophomore Matt Gamble won a quick 6-2, 6-1 match over Thibault Di Negri at No. 3 to make it 2-0 in favor of the Irish, while freshman William Howells followed with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Conner Andersen at the No. 4 slot. Griffin sealed with Irish win at 4-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Bryce Bonin on Court 6.

Sophomore Johnathan Small extended the lead to 5-0, winning 6-1, 6-3 over Adams at the five position. McCormick made it 6-0, defeating Marko Guzina 6-3, 6-4 at two. Cabrera completed the sweep, winning 6-2, 6-4 over Nemanja Guzina at the top of the lineup.

Up Next

Notre Dame will close the season on the road at Georgia Tech (April 20) and Clemson (April 22).

Scoreboard

No. 13 Florida State 4, No. 28 Notre Dame 3
April 15, 2018
Eck Tennis Pavilion
Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. No. 67 Aziz Dougaz (FSU) def. No. 36 Alex Lebedev (ND) 7-5, 7-6(4)
2. Richard Ciamarra (ND) def. No. 20 Guy Iradukunda (FSU) 6-3, 7-6(2)
3. No. 34 Lucas Poullain (FSU) def. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) 7-6(5), 6-4
4. Jose Gracia (FSU) def. Matt Gamble (ND) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alex Knaff (FSU) def. Tristan McCormick (ND) 6-3, 6-4
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar (FSU) 7-6(4), 7-6(3)
Doubles
1. Brendon Kempin / Tristan McCormick (ND) def. No. 86 Aziz Dougaz / Guy Iradukunda (FSU) 6-3
2. Grayson Broadus / Richard Ciamarra (ND) vs. Jose Gracia / Alex Knaff (FSU) 4-4, unfinished
3. Guillermo Cabrera / Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Lucas Poullain / Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) 6-1

No. 28 Notre Dame 7, Ball State 0
April 15, 2018
Eck Tennis Pavilion
Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles
1. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Nemanja Guzina (BSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Tristan McCormick (ND). def. Marko Guzina (BSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Matt Gamble (ND) def. Thibault Di Negri (BSU) 6-2, 6-1
4. William Howells (ND) def. Conner Andersen (BSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Johnathan Small (ND) def. Chris Adams (BSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Nathan Griffin def. Bryce Bonin (BSU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. Brendon Kempin / Richard Ciamarra (ND) def. Collin Rigney / Nemanja Guzina (BSU) 6-2
2. Grayson Broadus / William Howells (ND) vs. Marko Guzina / Conner Andersen (BSU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Drew Dawson / Nathan Griffin (ND) def. Tom Carney / Chris Adams (BSU) 6-2

For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and ndmenstennis on Instagram and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.

-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 men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.