May 9, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 13th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team travels to Harvard for an NCAA first-round match against the 47th-ranked Crimson at 2:00 p.m. on Sat., May 12. The winner of that match will play the winner of a first-round match between 18th-ranked Washington and Hofstra at noon on Sun., May 13. The Irish will be in action for the first time since losing 4-2 to Miami in the BIG EAST championship match.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Notre Dame will travel to Cambridge, Mass., to take on 47th-ranked host Harvard at 2:00 p.m. on Sat., May 12, in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships. Hofstra will play 18th-ranked Washington in the first match at 10:00 a.m. First-round winners will play a second-round match on Sun., May 13, at noon with the winner advancing to the round of 16 at the University of Georgia. The Irish earned an at-large selection into the NCAA championships with a 16-6 record and are making their 11th consecutive appearance in the event. Harvard enters its match against Notre Dame with a 12-7 record and earned an automatic bid in the tournament by winning the Ivy League. The Crimson have won three of five meetings with the Irish, including a 4-2 win in the opening round of the 1999 NCAA championship. Harvard is led by junior William Lee at No. 1 singles and senior Anthony Barker and freshman George Turner at No. 1 doubles. The teams played earlier in the season at the Kentucky Invitational and will see a pair of rematches on Saturday. Irish junior Javier Taborga defeated Cliff Nguyen 1-6, 6-2, 6-5, and the pair are slated to play at No. 2 singles. Notre Dame freshman Luis Haddock-Morales rallied to beat Oli Choo 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, and the two are expected to meet again at No. 3 singles.
IRISH AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Notre Dame has a 9-10 record in its previous 10 appearances in the 1990s. The Irish beat New Mexico State in the 2000 first round before falling to second-ranked and host UCLA in the second round. Notre Dame lost to Harvard in its first match in 1999 in the first year of the current 64-team field and lost its first match in the last three regionals after reaching the 1995 regional final in the previous regional format. Notre Dame played host to the ’94 regional and national championships and won the regional before falling to Georgia in its first match. The ’93 Irish beat Mississippi State 5-3 before falling 5-0 to USC in the quarterfinals. Notre Dame became the only northern school to reach the team championship match in 1992 when it beat Mississippi State 5-3, host Georgia 5-4 and top-ranked USC 5-1 before falling 5-0 to Stanford in the championship match. In their first appearance in the NCAA team format, which was instituted in 1978, the Irish beat Kansas 5-2 before falling 5-0 to USC.
NOTRE DAME, HARVARD FAMILIAR NCAA FOES: For the second time in three years, the Irish and Crimson will meet in the NCAA first round. Led by the top-ranked player in the country, 20th-ranked Harvard handed 30th-ranked Notre Dame a 4-2 loss in that match. That match featured two of the top singles players in the country, as the Crimson’s No. 1 James Blake beat third-ranked Ryan Sachire in three sets at No. 1 singles. Harvard won the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles and then were victorious at Nos. 1, 4 and 6 singles for the win. Then-sophomore Matt Daly and freshman Casey Smith, who now play at No. 6 and No. 1 singles and No. 3 and No. 2 doubles for the Irish, both won in singles and teamed at No. 3 doubles for Notre Dame’s only wins. Javier Taborga also played in that match, losing at No. 2 doubles. None of the current Harvard players participated in that match.
TABORGA, TALARICO MAKE SECOND NCAA APPEARANCE: Juniors Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico have been selected to compete in the NCAA doubles championships for the second consecutive year — the first for Notre Dame duo since Chuck Coleman and David DiLucia played in the 1991 and 1992 NCAA doubles tournaments. The 19th-ranked pair are one of just five doubles teams to make a repeat appearance in 2001. Taborga and Talarico enter the Harvard match with a 16-10 record and a 6-4 mark against ranked opponents. They have an 11-6 record at No. 1 doubles and reached the semifinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s All-American Championships. Playing in just their second doubles grand slam event, the Irish pair won three matches to reach the semifinals. Their grand slam semifinal appearance marks the best for an Irish doubles team since Todd Wilson and Andy Zurcher reached the semifinals of the 1994 NCAA doubles championships.
IRISH VS. NCAA FIELD: Ten of Notre Dame’s 16 wins have come against the other 63 teams in the NCAA championship, while the Irish have suffered all six of their losses to NCAA qualifiers.
ITA RANKINGS: The Irish stand 13th among the 75 teams ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association after finishing 2000 ranked 34th. Junior Casey Smith is ranked 79th in singles. Juniors Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico are ranked 19th in doubles.
HEAD COACH BOB BAYLISS: Irish head coach Bob Bayliss is in his 14th year as head coach of the Irish, compiling a 260-120 (.684) record at Notre Dame and a career mark of 542-213 (.718), the fifth-best winning percentage among active men’s coaches. Bayliss became the 11th active men’s tennis coach to record 500 career wins on Feb. 20, 1999. He has guided the Irish to NCAA championship appearances in each of the last 11 years, including an NCAA second-place finish in 1992. The Richmond, Va., native and 1966 graduate of Richmond has been named ITA national coach of the year in 1992 and ITA regional coach of the year three times. The six-time conference coach of the year has coached his players to 13 All-America honors in his 12 years at Notre Dame, with Ryan Sachire his latest All-American in 2000.
DALY MAKES RETURN HOME: Notre Dame’s first trip to Harvard since 1988 comes at a good for Irish senior Matt Daly, as the trip marks a homecoming for the native of nearby Wellesley, Mass. Daly has worked his way back into the lineup after off-season shoulder surgery sidelined him for the fall season. He has compiled a 7-1 singles record, all in dual matches, and has helped solidify the No. 3 doubles position. Daly has a 6-1 mark at No. 6 singles and is 1-0 at No. 5 singles, with wins against five NCAA teams: SMU, Miami, Auburn, Indiana State and Michigan.
IRISH RETURN TO TOP 10: Following its win at the Blue-Gray National Classic on March 18, Notre Dame returned to the top 10 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings for the first time since 1993 — the last time the Irish claimed the Blue-Gray title. Notre Dame defeated Tulane, Rice, Auburn and Fresno State at the Blue-Gray National Classic to move from No. 22 in the rankings to No. 10. On their way to reaching the top 10, the Irish put together a 10-match winning streak from Feb. 11-March 29 — their longest since winning 14 straight in 1990.
BAYLISS RETURNS TO BOSTON AREA: Irish head coach Bob Bayliss came to Notre Dame 14 years ago after coaching for two years at MIT and returns to the Boston area this weekend. Bayliss led MIT to a 34-14 record from 1985-87 and to two New England Intercollegiate titles, the only two in MIT’s history at that time.
SMITH STEPS INTO TOP SINGLES SPOT: Irish junior Casey Smith entered the dual match season having to move into the No. 1 singles vacated by three-time All-American and national senior-of-the-year Ryan Sachire, who compiled a 77-19 record in four years at No. 1 singles. After playing at mostly No. 3 singles in his first two seasons, Smith has compiled an 11-10 record in his first season at No. 1 singles and has posted dual-match victories among such teams as Baylor, Tulane, Rice, Minnesota and Ohio State.
HADDOCK-MORALES BOOSTS LINEUP: Luis Haddock-Morales has given the Irish immediate contributions as a freshman, as he has come in anchored the No. 3 singles position. With a 10-7 dual-match singles record, Haddock-Morales has helped bolster a Notre Dame singles lineup that has compiled an 82-36 record this season. He won his first nine collegiate matches in the fall and sports an overall singles record of 22-10.
TALARICO TOUGH AT NO. 4 SINGLES: Junior Aaron Talarico has been nearly unbeatable at No. 4 singles this season with a 14-1 record at that spot (his only loss there coming 7-5 in the third set to Duke’s Andres Pedroso) after posting an 11-8 record at Nos. 4 and 5 singles last season. A team-high five of his dual-match singles wins have provided the Irish win clinching victories. He enters the Harvard match on an 11-match winning streak.
IRISH CLAIM BLUE-GRAY NATIONAL CLASSIC: With a 9-2 record entering the event, Notre Dame picked up steam this season when the Irish blitzed their way to a first Blue-Gray National Classic title since 1993. Notre Dame blanked Tulane and Rice to reach the semifinal and then defeated 18th-ranked Auburn to advance to the final. The Irish lost the doubles point but rallied to win four singles matches in straights and beat Fresno State 4-2 for the crown. The Irish also reached the Blue-Gray final in 1993 and 1998. Notre Dame defeated eighth-ranked Alabama 5-2 in 1993 and lost to 22nd-ranked Boise State 4-3 in 1998.
2001 IRISH SLATE: The Irish enter the NCAA championships after playing matches against 18 ranked teams, including two matches against top 10 teams. Notre Dame finished first in its annual trip to Montgomery, Ala., for the prestigious Blue-Gray Classic.