March 14, 2003
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Just hours after suffering a narrow loss in the first round of the Blue/Gray National Tennis Classic, the Notre Dame men’s tennis team recovered nicely to defeat UAB, 4-2, in a consolation round match on Friday afternoon at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center. The 46th-ranked Irish claimed the doubles point, then locked up wins at the third, fourth and fifth singles spots to down the Blazers. Notre Dame (5-7) will be back on the hardcourts Saturday against No. 68 Boise State in another consolation round match.
For the second time on Friday, senior tri-captain Brian Farrell (Lilburn, Ga./St. Pius X H.S.) was a major contributor for the Irish, earning wins in both singles and doubles. The veteran Irish netter began by pairing up with junior tri-captain Luis Haddock (Caguas, P.R./Notre Dame H.S.) to log the first doubles victory, an 8-5 conquest of UAB’s Andre Maier and Dino Mancarella at the No. 2 position. Farrell then completed his wildly successful day by clinching the Irish match victory with a straight-set win at No. 4 singles, ousting the Blazers’ Ruben Zirhen by a 7-5, 6-0 score.
Sophomore Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School) also had a hand in two of the Irish points against UAB. He teamed with junior tri-captain Matthew Scott (Oakton, Va./International School of Paris) to earn the clinching doubles win at the No. 1 spot, 8-4 over the Blazer tandem of Bastian Gruendler and Kristijian Mitrovski. D’Amico then picked up a win at No. 3 singles, easily toppling Mitrovski, 6-1, 6-1.
The doubles point was hotly contested, with each squad winning a match before D’Amico and Scott gave Notre Dame the upper hand with their victory. D’Amico then boosted the Irish lead to 2-0 with his singles win, before the Blazers earned a point back thanks to a win when Gruendler defeated Haddock at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-4. Undaunted, Notre Dame added to its advantage when junior Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo (Guayanabo, P.R./Colegio Marista) carded his second singles win of the day with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Patrick Suhrbrier at the No. 5 flight.
UAB fought back and again closed to within a point when Sanzaruz Zanan upended freshman Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.), 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. However, Farrell helped the Irish close out their hard-earned victory with his success at the No. 4 spot. The second singles match between Scott and Maier was abandoned once Notre Dame clinched the team win.
— ND —
#46 Notre Dame 4, UAB 2
Blue/Gray National Tennis Classic — Consolation
Singles
No. 1: Bastian Gruendler (UAB) d. Luis Haddock (ND), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2: Matthew Scott (ND) vs. Andre Maier (UAB), abandoned
No. 3: Brent D’Amico (ND) d. Kristijian Mitrovski (UAB), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4: *Brian Farrell (ND) d. Ruben Zirhen (UAB), 7-5, 6-0
No. 5: Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo (ND) d. Patrick Suhrbrier (UAB), 6-4, 6-1
No. 6: Sanzaruz Zanan (UAB) d. Eric Langenkamp (ND), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 5, 6, 4*
Doubles
No. 1: *D’Amico/Scott (ND) d. Gruendler/Mitrovski (UAB), 8-4
No. 2: Farrell/Haddock (ND) d. Maier/Dino Mancarella (UAB), 8-5
No. 3: Suhrbrier/Zanan (UAB) d. Lopez-Acevedo/Paul McNaughton (ND), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1*