Oct. 4, 2003
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team won 12 of 16 matches on Saturday in the Eck Tennis Pavilion on the second day of the Tom Fallon Invitational, the lone home tournament for the Irish this fall. The TFI concludes on Sunday, with Notre Dame players in singles action at 8 a.m. (EST) against competitors from Army in the Eck Pavilion before competing in doubles at Noon (EST) outdoors at the Courtney Tennis Center, weather permitting.
Six Notre Dame players won in both singles and doubles on Saturday, and five competitors are unbeaten thus far in the event. Local product freshman Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph H.S.) continued his success in his first tournament in front of a hometown crowd as a college player. He defeated Purdue’s David Robinson 6-4, 6-3 in singles before teaming with junior tri-captain Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School) to win 9-7 against the team of Joseph McWilliams and Michael Flowers of Michigan State. Keckley remains unbeaten in singles this fall, having played five matches. The doubles win was the second of the tournament for D’Amico, who is playing competitively for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery in June.
Sophomore Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) also is undefeated in the ’03 TFI. He moved to 5-0 this season in singles action with a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7) win against Colin Foster of Purdue. Langenkamp and freshman Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) then topped the Michigan State team of Anthony Stefani and Steve Srivastava 8-5.
Bass also won in singles on Saturday, dropping just one game in topping Purdue’s Filip Koziell 6-0, 6-1. He is 4-1 in singles and 4-0 in doubles this fall.
Senior tri-captain Matthew Scott (Oakton, Va./International School of Paris) won in both singles and doubles for the second consecutive day. He was dominant in topping Alabama’s Mike Green 6-1, 6-1 prior to pairing with classmate and fellow tri-captain Luis Haddock (Caguas, P.R./Notre Dame H.S.) for an 8-3 triumph over Eric Simonton and Cameron Marshall of Michigan State. Scott is 8-2 this fall in singles and 5-1 in doubles. The pair of seniors has a career record of 9-2 playing together.
Haddock, ranked 64th in the nation in singles, rallied from down a set and a service break for a 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-7) victory against Joseph Jung of Alabama in singles play. In his career, Haddock is 25-3 in the Tom Fallon Invitational, including 15-1 in singles matches.
Junior Jimmy Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) also is unbeaten in the Tom Fallon, having played a pair of singles contests. On Saturday, he beat Srivastava of Michigan State 6-1, 6-1 to improve to 4-1 this fall.
Senior Ben Hatten (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill H.S.) posted singles and doubles victories on day two of the TFI. In a thriller, he outlasted Jamie Kish of Purdue in a marathon match tiebreaker 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (16-14) before teaming with classmate Paul Hidaka (Tokyo, Japan/St. Mary’s International School) to defeat Army’s pair of David Collins and Kyle Roybal 8-1. The win was the first collegiate triumph of Hidaka’s career.
Sophomore Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) also was victorious in singles. He beat Purdue’s Eric Hodgman 6-4, 6-3.
The Tom Fallon Invitational is named after legendary former Irish tennis coach Tom Fallon, who compiled a 514-194 (.726) record in 31 years leading the program, winning the 1959 national championship. He was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1988. Fallon began the tradition of a fall tennis season, starting the Irish Invitational in 1970. The tournament was renamed in his honor when he retired in 1987.
The TFI features a “hidden dual” format, in which teams play simulated dual matches against each other, but no team scores are recorded. All individual results are counted for ranking purposes.
Tom Fallon Invitational — Day Two
Singles
Stephen Bass (ND) d. Filip Koziell (Purdue) 6-0, 6-1
Eric Langenkamp (ND) d. Colin Foster (P) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7)
Ryan Keckley (ND) d. David Robinson (P) 6-4, 6-3
Patrick Buchanan (ND) d. Eric Hodgman (P) 6-4, 6-3
Sounak Chatterjee (P) d. Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-9)
Jarred Leibner (P) d. Bobby McNally 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9)
Ben Hatten (ND) d. Jamie Kish (P) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (16-14)
Scott Warner (P) d. Nick Chimerakis (ND) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (9-7)
#64 Luis Haddock (ND) d. Joseph Jung (Alabama) 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-7)
Matthew Scott (ND) d. Mike Green (Alabama) 6-1, 6-1
Jimmy Bass (ND) d. Steve Srivastava (Michigan State) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
Haddock/Scott (ND) d. Eric Simonton/Cameron Marshall (MSU) 8-3
Brent D’Amico/Keckley (ND) d. Joseph McWilliams/Michael Flowers (MSU) 9-7
S. Bass/Langenkamp (ND) d. Anthony Stefani/Steve Srivastava (MSU) 8-5
Mike Green/Joseph Jung (Alabama) d. Buchanan/McNally (ND) 8-5
Hatten/Paul Hidaka (ND) d. David Collins/Kyle Roybal (Army) 8-1