CHICAGO, Ill. — The No. 11 Irish dropped a close match to the No. 3 Bulldogs of Mississippi State in their final contest of the 2019 ITA National Indoor Championships.
The two teams fought to a close match, with a 4-2 final decision in favor of the Bulldogs although the match proved much closer than the score would suggest.
The doubles portion was tight as one match went to a tiebreak and another came just shy with Mississippi State taking a 7-5 victory to clinch the doubles point.
In singles, Tristan McCormick and Matt Gamble tallied the Irish points while Richard Ciamarra and Axel Nefve came close to their own as they fought hard through the third set.
The loss moved the Irish to 8-4 this season.
Doubles
The Irish battled hard in the doubles competition, dropping court two in a close 6-4 match to the No. 6 team in the nation in Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini.
As the third court went to a tiebreak with Matt Gamble and Grayson Broadus playing to keep the Irish chances alive in doubles, ninth-ranked duo Richard Ciamarra and Tristan McCormick faced the No. 34 team of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic. Giving up a close sixth game after being tied at five, the Irish tandem came just shy of their own tiebreaker, dropping the deuce point as Mississippi State clinched the first point of the day.
Singles
Notre Dame looked to bounce back from their doubles portion and earn their first victory of the weekend tournament.
Tristan McCormick posted the first Irish point of the morning, winning the No. 3 singles in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-2.
Three matches went to a decisive third set as Matt Gamble battled back after dropping his first set to tally another point for the Irish (4-6, 6-0, 6-3).
Axel Nefve and Richard Ciamarra both entered their third sets with hopes to lead the Irish to victory. Both matches came down to the wire as the two men fought to put the Irish on top. The Bulldogs’ Giovanni Oradini ranked 66th in the nation, ultimately edged past Ciamarra for the final tally of the morning to give Mississippi State the 4-2 victory.
Up Next
The Irish are back on the road next weekend as they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio to face a pair of Big Ten institutions. No. 11 Notre Dame is set to face No. 16 Michigan at noon on Saturday (February 23) before their trip south. The Irish will return to action at noon on Sunday (February 24) as they take on No. 2 Ohio State for their final match of February.
#3 Mississippi State 4, #11 Notre Dame 2
Singles competition
1. #5 Nuno Borges (MS) def. #18 Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-4, 6-4
2. #66 Giovanni Oradini (MS) def. #74 Richard Ciamarra (ND) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Tristan McCormick (ND) def. Strahinja Rakic (MS) 6-4, 6-2
4. #64 Niclas Braun (MS) vs. #123 Axel Nefve (ND) 7-5, 1-6, 3-4, unfinished
5. Matt Gamble (ND) def. #98 Trevor Foshey (MS) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Florian Broska (MS) def. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #34 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MS) def. #9 Richard Ciamarra/Tristan McCormick (ND) 7-5
2. #6 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MS) def. Alex Lebedev/Axel Nefve (ND) 6-4
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MS) vs. Grayson Broadus/Matt Gamble (ND) 6-6 (1-0), unfinished
Match Notes:
Notre Dame 8-4; National ranking #11
Mississippi State 7-2; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,6,5,2)
– 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship backdraw
– The win is MSU’s first over Notre Dame since 2004; UND now leads series, 6-2
– First meeting between the the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish since 2014
– All eight meetings between MSU and Notre Dame have been at neutral sites
Time of match – 2:38