March 15, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis program was hungry for a win. Since losing four straight matches dating back to February 21, the Irish were more than happy to order from Sunday’s menu.
The 36th-ranked Irish picked up a pair of wins over Boston College and Detroit on Sunday in a morning-night doubleheader at the Eck Tennis Pavilion, defeating the Eagles 7-0 and the Titans 6-1. The day not only put the Irish back on the winning track, but gave them the opportunity to get nine players into the lineup, six of whom don’t see regular playing time.
“We were confident that we had a good week last week in practice out in Arizona and our preparation was good,” head coach Ryan Sachire said. “It’s good to get almost everybody into matches and everybody that play won today (in either doubles or singles), which is always a positive sign. I think that builds confidence and we know we’ve got some really tough matches over the next week and hopefully this gives us a boost of juice heading into them.”
Notre Dame quickly won the doubles point in the morning match against Atlantic Coast Conference foe Boston College, sending out a couple of different combinations at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. Dougie Barnard and Quentin Monaghan started things off for the Irish on Court 2, recording a 6-2 win over Philip Nelson and Kent Mukai. On Court 3, senior Michael Fredericka and junior Kenneth Sabacinski defeated Matt Wagner and Conor Mullins 6-3. At the top of the lineup, 14th-ranked Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar came back from being down 2-1 to work a 6-3 victory over Kyle Childree and Hank Workman.
The top of the singles lineup had little trouble locking wins, as No. 22 Monaghan dispatched Nelson 6-2, 6-1 and Covalschi defeated Workman by the same score on Court 2. Sabacinski worked out of a first-set rut at No. 4 singles to beat Mukai 7-5, 6-3, while Nicolas Montoya handled Will Turner 7-6(3), 6-4 at No. 5. Both Hagar and Barnard needed third sets to emerge with wins, but both completed comebacks with Hagar besting Childree 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(10-4) and Barnard notching the first dual singles win of his career, 4-6, 7-6(7), 1-0(10-2) over Matt Wagner.
In the nightcap, Monaghan and Barnard moved to the top of the doubles lineup, dropping Jay Joshi and Ismail Kadyrov 6-2. Covalschi and Sabacinski teamed up to beat Patryk Kocielski and Kacper Setelmaszak 6-2 at No. 2 doubles, and freshmen Drew Dawson and Brendon Kempin saw their first dual match action of the season with a 6-4 win over Rafeal Orantes and Chance Conley.
Monaghan remained in the singles lineup and notched a 6-2, 6-4 win over Kocielski at No. 1, moving the junior to 10-2 on the season. Sabacinski defeated Conley at No. 4, 6-0, 6-1, and Dawson picked up his first career dual singles win with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Tanguy Crosnier, 6-0, 6-0
Hagar got his second win of the day on Court 2, holding on to defeat Kadyrov 6-0, 7-6(2), while Kempin pulled out a 6-2, 7-6(6) victory over Stelmaszak at No. 5 to complete the day for the Irish.
“Today was important coming off a few losses, and I think it’s always good when you have a little bit of a break in the season like we just did, it’s good to work really hard like we did over Spring Break and see that pay off in two matches,” Hagar said.
Notre Dame will take a day off before returning to the court to host No. 34 Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Red Raiders have won three straight matches, including a 4-1 win over No. 30 Indiana on Sunday. For the latest updates on Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
No. 36 Notre Dame 7, Boston College 0
SINGLES
1. No. 22 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Philip Nelson (BC), 6-2, 6-1
2. Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Hank Workman (BC), 6-2, 6-1
3. Josh Hagar (ND) def. Kyle Childree (BC), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)
4. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Kent Mukai (BC), 7-5, 6-3
5. Nicolas Montoya (ND) def. Will Turner (BD), 7-6(3), 6-4
6. Dougie Barnard (ND) def. Matt Wagner (BC), 4-6, 7-6(7), 1-0(10-2)
DOUBLES
1. No. 14 Eddy Covalschi / Josh Hagar (ND) def. Kyle Childree / Hank Workman (BC), 6-3
2. Dougie Barnard / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Philip Nelson / Kent Mukai (BC), 6-2
3. Michael Fredericka / Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Matt Wagner / Conor Mullins (BC), 6-3
No. 36 Notre Dame 6, Detroit 1
SINGLES
1. No. 22 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Patryk Kocielski (DET), 6-2, 6-4
2. Josh Hagar (ND) def. Ismail Kadyrov (DET), 6-0, 7-6(2)
3. Rafael Orantes (DET) def. Michael Fredericka (ND), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0(10-6)
4. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Chance Conley (DET), 6-0, 6-1
5. Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Kacper Stelmaszak (DET), 6-2, 7-6(6)
6. Drew Dawson (ND) def. Tanguy Crosnier (DET), 6-0, 6-0
DOUBLES
1. Quentin Monaghan / Dougie Barnard (ND) def. Jay Joshi / Ismail Kadyrov (DET), 6-2
2. Eddy Covalschi / Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Patryk Kocielski / Kacper Stelmaszak (DET), 6-2
3. Rafael Orantes / Chance Conley (DET) def.Drew Dawson / Brendon Kempin (ND), 6-4
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
–ND–