April 25, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Just days after bringing home its ninth BIG EAST title under ITA Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bayliss, the No. 31 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team swept the league’s regular season honors Thursday in unanimous fashion.
Junior Greg Andrews was named BIG EAST Player of the Year for the second year in a row, freshman Quentin Monaghan earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Year accolades and Bayliss was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year for the eighth time. All were unanimous selections in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The sweep marked the first time since the regular season awards began in 2009 that one school had swept all three awards.
Additionally senior Blas Moros and junior Billy Pecor were named all-BIG EAST along with Andrews and Monaghan.
No. 81 Andrews has raked up BIG EAST awards since first setting foot on campus in the fall of 2010. The 2011 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, Andrews was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2012, before earning the same honor this season.
A five-time BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2013 and a team co-captain, Andrews is 24-12 during the year including 17-7 in the spring season at the No. 1 spot. In doubles, the Richland, Mich., native is 21-14 overall including 11-9 during the spring season. During the BIG EAST Championship, Andrews went 2-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles to earn tournament Most Outstanding Player honors to help lead the Irish to the championship. Highlighting his week was a 6-3, 7-5 win over then-No. 65 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer that gave the Irish a 3-0 lead.
Monaghan turned in an impressive rookie campaign, going 26-8 during the year including 18-4 in the spring. The Chatham, N.J., native began the spring season at three singles and went 5-1 before going 13-3 the rest of the way at two. A one-time BIG EAST Player of the Week, Monaghan clinched the BIG EAST title for the Irish with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Louisville’s Albert Wagner.
Bayliss, who enters the NCAA Championship with a 765-338-1 record, has now won eight BIG EAST Coach of the Year certificates, 12 coach of the year awards with the Irish and 15 for his career going back to his Navy and MIT days. The Richmond, Va., native has led Notre Dame to nine BIG EAST championships, which is second among all league schools.
His 765 wins make him the active career leader in Division I and put him in fifth place all-time in Division I history.
Replacing three starters in the lineup from last year’s NCAA Round of 32 team, Bayliss charged his team with navigating a formidable schedule that featured 15 ranked teams in 26 matches, including six teams that were in the top 25. Not only did the Irish win 19 matches and claim the BIG EAST title, but Notre Dame remained in the top 31 the entire season, including a high mark of 21.
Moros, a team co-captain, made the remarkable leap from six singles last year to two and three singles this year. He went 23-6 for the year and 13-6 during the spring, including 4-3 at two and 9-3 at three. Moros earned one BIG EAST Player of the Week award during the season.
Pecor was a mainstay at the number four singles spot, turning in a 19-12 record on the year including 12-8 during the spring season. The Houston, Texas native did most of his damage at four, going 10-8. Pecor earned two BIG EAST Player of the Week honors this season.
The foursome on the all-BIG EAST team are the most in the league this season and tie the 2011 squad for the most in school history.
By earning the BIG EAST Championship, Notre Dame claimed the league’s automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Championship and awaits its tournament destination. The selection show will air at 5 p.m. April 30 on NCAA.com. The first two rounds of the NCAA Championship are slated for May 10-12.
All-BIG EAST Team
Filip Dzanko, Jr., DePaul *
Charlie Caris, Sr., Georgetown
Sebastian Stiefelmeyer, So., Louisville *
Albert Wagner, So., Louisville
Dan Mamalat, Jr., Marquette
Greg Andrews, Jr., Notre Dame *
Quentin Monaghan, Fr., Notre Dame *
Blas Moros, Sr., Notre Dame
Billy Pecor, So., Notre Dame
Vasko Mladenov, Jr., St. John’s *
Oliver Pramming, So., USF
Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz, Fr., USF
Thomas O’Brien, Jr., Villanova
Player of the Year
Greg Andrews, Jr., Notre Dame *
Freshman of the Year
Quentin Monaghan, Fr., Notre Dame *
Coach of the Year
Bobby Bayliss, Notre Dame *
*unanimous selection
–ND–