Sept. 27, 2001
Notre Dame, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team opened its season by winning 10 of 12 matches, all against William & Mary, on the first day of the Tom Fallon Invitational at the Courtney Tennis Center and Eck Tennis Pavilion Thursday afternoon. The Irish won six of eight singles matches and then used four new doubles teams to sweep the doubles matches. Play continues tomorrow in the Tom Fallon Invitational as Notre Dame takes on Purdue (singles only) at 11:00 a.m., Indiana State (singles only) at 3:00 p.m. and Harvard (doubles only) at 5:00 p.m.
Javier Taborga (La Paz, Bolivia), ranked 76th in the country, came back from losing the first set to defeat Sean Kelleher 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-2). Captain Casey Smith (Leawood, Kan.), ranked 38th nationally, also won his season opener 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 over Geoffrey Russell. 100th-ranked sophomore Luis Haddock-Morales (Caguas, Puerto Rico) continued his success in the Tom Fallon Invitational by defeating Joe Brooks 6-2, 6-1. With his two victories (he also won in doubles), Haddock-Morales improved to 10-0 in combined singles and doubles play at the Tom Fallon. Fellow sophomore Matthew Scott (Paris, France) defeated Matt Davis 6-3, 6-3, while senior Andrew Laflin (Tampa, Fla.) beat Jeff Malmgren 6-1, 6-2. Junior Brian Farrell (Lilburn, Ga.) downed Alexander Fish 6-4, 6-2.
Three of Notre Dame’s doubles teams had never played together and the fourth, that of seniors Smith and Taborga, had played teamed up only twice — in their first collegiate tournament as freshmen — and had never been victorious. Nonetheless, all were victorious Thursday. Smith and Taborga, ranked 34th in the nation, beat Kelleher and Russell 9-8 (7-3). The win brought Taborga’s career doubles record in the Tom Fallon Invitational to 8-0. Haddock-Morales teamed with senior Ashok Raju (Morgantown, W.Va.) to defeat Brooks and Fish 8-2, while Farrell and freshman Brent D’Amico (Centennial, Colo.) beat Malmgren and Jeff Kader 8-6. Senior James Malhame (Douglaston, N.Y.) and freshman Paul McNaughton (Hinsdale, Ill.) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-3 win over Davis and Charles Briggs.
The Irish were scheduled to open their season September 14-16 at the Rice Invitational, but the tournament was cancelled because of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The Tom Fallon Invitational, known as the Irish Invitational until the name was changed in 1988, honors Notre Dame coaching legend Tom Fallon, who coached the Irish for 31 years from 1957-87. Fallon, a member of the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, amassed a career record of 511-200 and helped Notre Dame to a share of the 1959 national title.
The tournament was changed from a “flight” format to a “hidden dual” format in 2000. Teams play simulated matches against each other, but there are no team scores recorded. Each scheduled “match” will consist of either eight singles matches or four doubles matches. Singles matches consist of two sets and a supertiebreaker (first to 10 points) instead of a third set. Doubles matches are one eight-game pro set. Collegiate Game Scoring (CGS) is utilized — as it will be for all ITA-sanctioned events this fall. It is basically a “one-ad” format, a game point ensues on the second deuce of a game. All individual results are counted for ranking purposes.
Singles
#76 Javier Taborga (ND) d. Sean Kelleher (WM) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-2)
#38 Casey Smith (ND) d. Geoffrey Russell (WM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
Jeffrey Kader (WM) d. Aaron Talarico (ND) 6-3, 6-3
#100 Luis Haddock-Morales (ND) d. Joe Brooks (WM) 6-2, 6-1
Matthew Scott (ND) d. Matt Davis (WM) 6-3, 6-3
Andrew Laflin (ND) d. Jeff Malmgren (WM) 6-1, 6-2
Brian Farrell (ND) d. Alexander Fish (WM) 6-4, 6-2
Charles Briggs (WM) d. Brent D’Amico (ND) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
#34 Smith/Taborga (ND) d. Kelleher/Russell (WM) 9-8 (7-3)
Haddock-Morales/Ashok Raju (ND) d. Brooks/Fish (WM) 8-2
D’Amico/Farrell (ND) d. Kader/Malmgren (WM) 8-6
James Malhame/Paul McNaughton (ND) d. Briggs/Davis (WM) 8-3
TOM FALLON INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE OF PLAY (REVISED)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
9:00 a.m. — singles only
Harvard vs. Wisconsin
Indiana State vs. Michigan State
Ball State vs. Michigan
11:00 a.m. — singles only
Notre Dame vs. Purdue
William & Mary vs. Rice
1:00 p.m. — singles only
Michigan vs. Harvard
Ball State vs. Wisconsin
2:00 p.m. — singles only
William & Mary vs. Michigan State
3:00 p.m. — singles only
Notre Dame vs. Indiana State
Rice vs. Purdue
5:00 p.m. — doubles only
Notre Dame vs. Harvard
William & Mary vs. Michigan
Ball State vs. Rice
Indiana State vs. Michigan State
Purdue vs. Wisconsin
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
9:00 a.m. — singles only
Notre Dame vs. Harvard
Purdue vs. William & Mary
Ball State vs. Michigan State
11:00 a.m. — singles only
Wisconsin vs. Michigan
Indiana State vs. Rice
1:00 p.m. — singles only
Notre Dame vs. Ball State
2:00 p.m. — singles only
Michigan vs. William & Mary
Michigan State vs. Wisconsin
3:00 p.m. — singles only
Indiana State vs. Purdue
Rice vs. Harvard
5:00 p.m. — doubles only
Notre Dame vs. Purdue
Harvard vs. Indiana State
Ball State vs. Wisconsin
Michigan State vs. William & Mary
Michigan vs. Rice
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
9:00 a.m. — singles only
Notre Dame vs. Michigan
Harvard vs. Wisconsin
Indiana State vs. William & Mary
11:00 a.m. — singles only
Michigan State vs. Purdue
Ball State vs. Rice
1:00 p.m. — doubles only
William & Mary vs. Harvard
Notre Dame vs. Michigan
Ball State vs. Michigan State
Rice vs. Wisconsin
Indiana State vs. Purdue