May 20, 2015
Championship Central
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WACO, Texas — The oppressive Texas heat and a motivated opponent were no match for University of Notre Dame men’s tennis junior Quentin Monaghan in the first round of the NCAA Men’s DI Singles Championship at the Hurd Tennis Center at Baylor University on Wednesday.
The ninth-ranked Monaghan fought off temperatures of upwards of 90 degrees and a second-set rally by No. 33 Farris Gosea of Illinois, advancing to the tournament’s Round of 32 after a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
Monaghan and Gosea traded service games in the first set until it was 4-all before Monaghan snagged a break and held to win the set 6-4.
The Irish junior broke again early in the second set to take a 3-2 lead, but it would not be a repeat of Monaghan’s 6-4, 6-4 victory when the two met earlier this season. Gosea played a prickly return game and forced Monaghan to his heels late in the second set, breaking back to make it 4-all before holding and breaking again to force the third.
Monaghan and Gosea traded break points to start the third before the Irish junior picked up the first hold of the set to go up 3-1. From there, Monaghan bore down on his Illini opponent, allowing just one more hold by Gosea before taking the final three games to win 6-2.
“I think in the third set I was able to regroup mentally and come out with more intensity and energy on every point,” Monaghan said. “I was a little more patient with my attack and more stubborn about getting the right ball to finally finish the point.”
The win brought Monaghan’s overall season record to 30-6 and marked the first time he has reached 30 wins in a season in his career.
Monaghan will face No. 25 Roberto Quiroz of Southern California on Thursday in the Round of 32. Quiroz defeated No. 96 Jack Findel-Hawkins of North Florida on Wednesday to advance. Monaghan defeated Quiroz 6-0, 7-5 in the main singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships in September.
“I know that Quiroz is a great player and had a great season so it will be a great match,” Monaghan said. “This fall I was able to get a pretty quick start on him and put him on his heels, so hopefully I can come out with that same intensity and play a tough match from start to finish.”
The doubles portion of the NCAA Championships will kick off Thursday with No. 15 Billy Pecor and Alex Lawson representing the Irish and taking on No. 7 Ralf Steinbach and Kevin Metka of Ohio State. Times for doubles matches will be determined later this evening.
Pecor and Lawson met with Steinbach and Metka on February 21 when the Irish visited Ohio State, and he Buckeye duo defeated Pecor and Lawson 6-3. The Irish pair have since won seven of their last nine matches together, including their most recent win over No. 5 Gonzalez Austin and Rhys Johnson of Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA team championship.
For the latest Irish tennis updates, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
NCAA Men’s DI Singles Championship
May 20-25, 2015
First Round
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. No. 33 Farris Gosea (ILL), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Second Round
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) vs. No. 25 Roberto Quiroz (USC), TBD
NCAA Men’s DI Doubles Championship
May 21-25, 2015
First Round
No. 15 Billy Pecor / Alex Lawson (ND) vs. No. 7 Ralf Steinbach / Kevin Metka (OSU), TBD
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
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