Richard Ciamarra

Irish Take Down Golden Eagles to Round Out Homestand

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The Notre Dame Men’s Tennis team took to the outdoor courts on a sunny Friday afternoon in South Bend to earn a decisive victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles, finishing their four-game homestand in style. 

The Irish came to play. Richard Ciamarra and Matthew Che quickly worked their way to a 6-0 victory at two doubles; Axel Nefve and Tristan McCormick would not be left out, winning 6-3 at the one spot to clinch the doubles point for Notre Dame. 

Momentum would not be relinquished moving into singles play as the Irish took the first five singles matches, four in straight sets. Connor Fu found the first singles victory, winning his match 6-1, 6-0. Axel Nefve quickly followed with a final score of 6-1, 6-2, and Brandon Ancona and William Howells were next in line, winning 7-5, 6-1, and 6-2, 6-2, respectively. Ancona’s win would prove to be the match-clinching point for the Irish. 

Matthew Che fought his way back after dropping the first set, taking the second 6-3 and ultimately earning a victory through a super set tiebreaker by a score of 10-8 at the three singles spot. Tristan McCormick claimed the first set in his match but would drop the second, requiring a third set to decide the winner in which he fell 5-7. 

With the win, the Irish move to 9-7 overall. 

Notre Dame MTEN 6 , Marquette 1

Singles competition 

  1. Axel Nefve (ND) def. Fran San Andres (MARQ), 6-1, 6-2
  2. Luis Heredia Gomez (MARQ) def. Tristan McCormick (ND), 2-6, 6,3, 7-5
  3. Matthew Che (ND) def. Stefan Dragovic (MARQ), 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
  4. Connor Fu (ND) def. Tin Krstulovich (MARQ), 6-1, 6-0
  5. Brandon Ancona (ND) def. Nikola Kijac (MARQ), 7-5, 6-1
  6. William Howells (ND) def. Ian Brady (MARQ), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition 

  1. McCormick/Nefve (ND) def. San Andres/Heredia Gomez (MARQ), 6-3
  2. Ciamarra/Che (ND) def. Dragovic/Brady (MARQ), 6-0
  3. Ancona/Howells (ND) vs. Khalafallah/Scheetz (MARQ), UNF

Next Up
The Irish next travel to Tallahassee, Florida, to take on the Seminoles of Florida State on Friday, March 26. They are back in action at home on April 3rd when they host the Louisville Cardinals. 

While fans are unable to attend matches at the Eck Tennis Pavilion due to health and safety protocol, live stats are available at UND.com/mediastats and live streaming is available at UND.com/tennisstream.

—ND—