Feb. 25, 2001
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 26th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team lost all three doubles matches but rallied to win four of six singles match to beat host Purdue 4-3 on Sunday. Junior Javier Taborga rallied from 1-4 in the third set to beat Carl McCafferty 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 singles to clinch the win. The Irish improve to 8-2 with their 11th consecutive win over the Boilermakers and have won five straight matches since losing to fifth-ranked Duke earlier in the season.
Purdue won the doubles point in convincing fashion by sweeping all three matches, including 24th-ranked Jason Marshall and Dan Swan’s win over 14th-ranked Taborga and Aaron Talarico at No. 1 doubles. Marshall then gave the Boilers a 2-0 lead with a win at No. 1 singles.
Notre Dame began its rally as sophomore Brian Farrell won 6-1, 6-4 over Derek Miller at No. 4 singles. Senior Matt Daly — playing in his first dual singles match of the season — stepped into the lineup at No. 6 singles and tied the match at 2-2 with his 6-3, 6-4 win over Swan. Freshman Matthew Scott rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Troy Havens at No. 5 singles to give the Irish a 3-2 lead.
Taborga’s win at No. 2 singles then give the Irish their second comeback win in as many matches at Purdue. Notre Dame trailed 3-0 in its last trip to Purdue in 1999 before rallying for a 4-3 win. The Boilers won at No. 3 singles after the match had been clinched.
#26 NOTRE DAME 4, #51 PURDUE 3
Singles
No. 1: #51 Jason Marshall (P) def. Casey Smith (ND) 6-4, 6-0
No. 2: #88 Javier Taborga (ND) def. Carl McCafferty (P) 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Scott Mayer (P) def. Aaron Talarico (ND) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
No. 4: Brian Farrell (ND) def. Derek Miller (P) 6-1, 6-4
No. 5: Matthew Scott (ND) def. Troy Havens (P) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6: Matt Daly (ND) def. Dan Swan (P) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1: #24 Marshall/Swan (P) def. #14 Taborga/Talarico (ND) 8-2
No. 2: Laith Al-Agba/McCafferty (P) def. Luis Haddock-Morales/Smith (ND) 8-5
No. 3: Mayer/Miller (P) def. Matt Daly/Brian Farrell (ND) 8-3