Oct. 1, 2016
By Joanne Norell
TULSA, Okla. – University of Notre Dame men’s tennis sophomore Alex Lebedev kicked off play at the 2016 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships on Saturday, posting a 1-1 record in pre-qualifying singles play.
Lebedev, who missed his freshman season with an injury, started the day with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Eastern Michigan’s Victor Pereira, but bowed out in the Round of 128 to Texas A&M’s Hady Habib in a 6-4, 6-2 decision.
Irish seniors Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar will hit the court for the Irish on Monday when they take part in both singles and doubles qualifying rounds. The pair are tied for No. 26 in the Oracle/ITA national doubles poll, while Hagar is ranked 70th in singles.
ITA All-American Championships
Oct. 1-10, 2016
Case Tennis Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Pre-Qualifying Singles
Round of 256
Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Victor Pereira (EMU), 6-1, 6-3
Round of 128
Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Alex Lebedev (ND), 6-4, 6-2
— 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 women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.