January 30, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 24th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team rallied from a 3-1 deficit before Texas freshman and 31st-ranked Brandon Hawk held on for a 7-6 (9-7) 1-6, 6-3 over Brian Patterson at No. 2 singles as the seventh-ranked Longhorns edged the Irish 4-3 for the fourth straight year. Texas won the doubles point and two of the first three singles before Irish freshmen Casey Smith and Andrew Laflin each won tight, straight-set matches to knot the match at 3-3. Notre Dame suffers its first loss of the season and is 3-1, while Texas improves to 3-0.

The Longhorns rolled through the doubles lineup, beginning with an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles. Hawk and Nick Crowell clinched the point with an 8-4 win over Patterson and Ryan Sachire at No. 1 doubles.

Sachire, ranked third in singles, won his second consecutive match against another top-10 opponent, downing Longhorn senior and seventh-ranked Jack Brasington 6-2, 6-4. Sachire had beat Wisconsin’s fourth-ranked Mark Loughrin in straight sets in a 5-2 Irish at Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Texas then used straight set wins from Gwaneal Gueit and Paul Martin at Nos. 4 and 3 singles. Gueit beat Andy Warford 6-4, 6-2, while Martin saved a set point at 5-6 in the set before winning 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

Smith beat Michael Blue 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 at No. 5 singles and Laflin won 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) over Jorge Haro at No. 6 singles to tie the match. Hawk shrugged off a 6-1 loss in the second set, jumping out a 5-0 lead in the third set. Patterson saved two match points, winning three straight games before Hawk held serve at 5-3 for the win.

Notre Dame coach Bob Bayliss, in his 30th year as a head coach and 12th in charge of the Irish, was looking for his 500th career win on Saturday. He will have his next chance to reach that mark when Notre Dame travels to 26th-ranked Kentucky on Feb. 9.

#7 TEXAS 4, #24 NOTRE DAME 3 SinglesNo. 1 #3 Ryan Sachire (ND) def. #7 Jack Brasington (UT)       6-2, 6-4No. 2: #31 Brandon Hawk (UT) def. Brian Patterson (ND)        7-6, (9-7), 1-6, 6-3No. 3: #83 Paul Martin (UT) def. Matt Daly (ND)               6-3, 7-6 (7-3)No. 4: Gwaneal Gueit (UT) def. Andy Warford (ND)              6-4, 6-2No. 5: Casey Smith (ND) def. Michael Blue (UT)                7-6 (7-3), 6-3No. 6: Andrew Laflin (ND) def. Jorge Haro (UT)                7-5, 7-6 (7-1)
DoublesNo. 1: Hawk/Nick Crowell (UT) def. Patterson/Sachire (ND)     8-4No. 2: Gueit/Martin (UT) def. Matt Horsley/Trent Miller (ND)  9-7No. 3: Blue/Brasington (UT) def. Daly/Smith (ND)              8-3