Aug. 12, 2014

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Junior Alex Lawson and senior Billy Pecor of the Notre Dame men’s tennis team claimed victory today (Aug. 12) in the finals of the ITA/USTA National Summer Doubles Championship. The pair scored an 8-6 win over Valparaiso’s Jeffrey Schorsch and Charlie Emhardt to take the title.

“We played a good match today,” Lawson said. “That’s a tricky team from Valpo, and we just stuck with our game that we know will beat any team out there and got the job done.”

Another notable victory from the tournament was Pecor and Lawson’s defeat of Ian Dempster and Robbie Mudge of NC State in the semifinals. Dempster and Mudge finished the 2013-14 season ranked 25th in the country and advanced to the second round of the NCAA doubles tournament.

“We are thrilled for Billy and Alex to have won this tournament,” said Irish head coach Ryan Sachire. “Throughout their careers at Notre Dame, they have both demonstrated the ability to compete at the highest level of our sport, and it’s awesome to see them continue on that path. To have gone through such a tough field of competition, including a team that was ranked in the top 25 in the country last year, suggests that they have the capability of playing elite level doubles for us this upcoming season.”

By winning the title, the duo has earned a main draw wild card into the doubles event at the All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla., in October.

“It was a really fun match, overall it was a great tournament for us, and we’re coming out of here with a few awesome wins,” Lawson added. “We’re going into All-American with a ton of confidence, and we’re really excited to get to play in Tulsa and keep it rolling over there.”

–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant

–ND–