March 30, 2017
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team returns to action this weekend when it welcomes NC State, Georgia Tech and IUPUI to the Courtney Tennis Center.
Match 17
WHO: No. 43 Notre Dame (10-6, 2-2 ACC) vs. NC State (10-10, 1-4 ACC)
WHERE: Courtney Tennis Center | Notre Dame Ind.
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. ET Friday
Match 18
WHO: No. 43 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Georgia Tech (11-3, 3-1 ACC)
WHERE: Courtney Tennis Center | Notre Dame Ind.
WHEN: Noon ET Sunday
Match 19
WHO: No. 43 Notre Dame vs. IUPUI (6-13)
WHERE: Courtney Tennis Center | Notre Dame Ind.
WHEN: 5 p.m. ET Sunday
RESULTS: | | | WatchND (if indoors)
On The Wolfpack
- NC State enters Friday’s match with a .500 record, but with a 1-4 ACC mark, having lost four of its five matches. The Wolfpack lost four in a row to open conference play before defeating Clemson 5-2 last time out.
- The Wolfpack is led by two ranked singles players: No. 87 Nick Horton (10-8 dual record) and No. 92 Alexis Galarneau (13-5). Also with double-digit wins are Georgiy Malyeshev (12-8) and Igor Saveljic (11-8).
- In doubles, Horton and Galarneau come in ranked No. 63 and boasting a 9-5 dual record.
- The Irish are 4-1 all-time against NC State, including 2-1 under Callaghan Family Head Men’s Tennis Coach Ryan Sachire. The Irish defeated the Wolfpack 6-1 in last season’s finale.
On The Yellow Jackets
- Georgia Tech comes into the contest with a No. 15 national ranking, with the Yellow Jackets having won nine of their last 10 matches. Georgia Tech will face Boston College on Friday before swinging west to face the Irish.
- Georgia Tech is led by ninth-ranked Christopher Eubanks (9-1 dual record) and No. 102 Andrew Li (7-4), while Cole Feigel (10-1), Carlos Benito (9-2) and Daniel Yun (8-2) also boast impressive singles records.
- In doubles, Georgia Tech’s Benito and Carlos Divar rank 75th nationally with a 7-3 dual record.
- Notre Dame and Georgia Tech are tied at 2-2 in the series, with the Yellow Jackets collecting a 5-2 victory last season.
On The Jaguars
- IUPUI will play Xavier on Friday and Butler on Saturday before squaring off with Notre Dame on Sunday. The Jaguars have lost five straight entering the weekend.
- IUPUI is led by David Bradley with a 10-7 record.
- Notre Dame is 4-0 against IUPUI, but has not faced the Jaguars in Sachire’s tenure. The Irish and Jaguars last met in the 2013 season.
Last Time Out
The Irish traveled to Blacksburg last weekend and walked away with a 4-3 victory over Virginia Tech. After winning the doubles point, the Irish got wins from seniors Josh Hagar and Eddy Covalschi, but the score remained tied with the final match on the court. Freshman Matt Gamble clinched the win for Notre Dame at No. 4, rallying to defeat Henrik Korsgaard 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
On The Horizon
The Irish are one win away from reaching the 1,200th dual win in program history.
Rankings Rundown
Notre Dame dropped six spots to No. 43 in the most recent Oracle/ITA Division I Men’s Tennis Rankings.
The Irish also boast two players in the individual rankings. Seniors Josh Hagar and Eddy Covalschi moved up one spots to No. 11 in the most recent Oracle/ITA Division I Men’s Tennis doubles rankings, having gone 18-7 on the season, including 8-4 in dual play this spring. Hagar comes in at No. 45 in this week’s singles rankings.
A Weather Note
Each match is scheduled to be played outdoors at the Courtney Tennis Center. The matches will be played outdoors unless inclement weather prevents it. According to Intercollegiate Tennis Association rules: “Matches shall be played outdoors unless the projected weather forecast for a minimum of:
- two hours out of a three-hour time period in Division I
- two hours out of a four-hour time period for all other divisions
from the start of the match, according to www.weather.com is:
a. A high of less than 50°; or
b. Sustained winds (not including wind gusts) of more than 20 miles per hour.
c. If the outdoor conditions have changed by the end of the doubles play, it is understood that both coaches and the Referee may agree to move the match indoors. If play is suspended at any other point during the match due to weather, play must resume outdoors within one hour of the delay. If this is not possible, matches must be moved indoors.
As of Thursday morning, the forecast for Friday is a high of 45° with a 50 percent chance of rain, while Sunday calls for a high of 58° with a 20 percent chance of rain. Be sure to follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter for the most updated information on the location of each match.
Keeping Up With The Irish
All indoor home matches will be streamed live on WatchND. Live scoring will be available for all home tennis matches at UND.com, with links for each match available on the men’s tennis schedule page. Live match updates will also be shared on the team’s Twitter account, @NDMensTennis.
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For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.