Oct. 9, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. –
After a three-week layoff following the Wolverine Invitational, the men’s tennis team will be back in action this weekend. The Irish will play host to the 22nd annual Tom Fallon Invitational, named after the 31-year head coach. The 2008 tournament will begin on Friday, October 10 at Notre Dame’s Courtney Tennis Center. This year’s field includes Ball State, Harvard, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Western Michigan and Wisconsin.
“We’re excited to be able to host this event, especially since we have not played since the Wolverine Invitational in September. With Brett away at the ITA All American Championships, I am anxious to see how some of our younger guys fill in at the number one, two or three positions and how they fare,” said head coach Bob Bayliss.
About the field Bayliss continued, “Harvard is the reigning Ivy League champion coached by Dave Fish, one of the true leaders of collegiate tennis, while Ball State and Western Michigan fight annually for the MAC Championship and Wisconsin and Michigan State are traditional regional and BIG TEN rivals, so we feel there is a lot of balance to the field. There should be some great tennis played over the weekend.”
Initially conceived of as a dual-match tournament, the event was changed first to a series of singles and doubles flights and finally to a “hidden dual” format, in 2000. Teams play simulated matches against each other, but there are no team scores recorded. All individual results are counted for ranking purposes.
At last year’s Tom Fallon Invitational, the Irish combined to go 26-14 in singles play, including a 4-0 record by Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West), who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Dan Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman HS) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan HS) joined Helgeson on the All-Tournament team. Stephen Havens was also named to the all tournament team, as Notre Dame placed four players on the nine-player All-Tournament team, the most of any school.
Tom Fallon began the practice of hosting a fall tournament in 1970. It was called the Irish Invitational until he retired in 1987. Fallon coached the Irish from 1957-87, posting a 514-194 (.762) mark. His 1959 squad became the second in Notre Dame history to win a men’s tennis NCAA national championship, as the Irish went 14-0 in their national title campaign. Fallon was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame in 1988.
The Irish opened the 2008 fall season at the Wolverine Invitational on Sept. 19-21 at Michigan’s Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. Notre Dame had three of the top five finishers at the event. Stahl came in second overall, amassing 22 points, while David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich HS) and Davis tied for fourth with 18 points apiece.
After the Tom Fallon Invitational, the Irish continue their fall season at the Midwest Regionals, which begin play on Thursday, October 16. The event will take place at Ohio State University’s Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
2008 Tom Fallon Invitational Schedule
Friday, Oct. 10
10 a.m. Singles:
Notre Dame vs. Harvard
Ball State vs. Wisconsin
Western Michigan vs. Michigan State
11:30 a.m. Singles:
Notre Dame vs. Ball State
Harvard vs. Western Michigan
Michigan State vs. Wisconsin
3:30 p.m. Doubles:
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
Harvard vs. Wisconsin
Ball State vs. Western Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 11
10 a.m. Singles:
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
Harvard vs. Wisconsin
Ball State vs. Western Michigan
1:00 p.m. Doubles:
Notre Dame vs. Harvard
Ball State vs. Michigan State
Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan
2:00 p.m. Doubles:
Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan
Harvard vs. Ball State
Wisconsin vs. Michigan State
Sunday, Oct. 12
10 a.m. Singles:
TBA
Noon doubles:
TBA