March 17, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 21st-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team fell to No. 14 Kentucky in a 6-1 decision Thursday at the Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky. Senior Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) downed 47th-ranked Alex Musialek in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The Wildcats earned an early lead over the Irish, winning at first and second doubles. Kentucky’s No. 48 Eric Quigley and Brad Cox downed junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and sophomore Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) in an 8-6 decision.
At second doubles the duo of seniors Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) and Stahl fell to No. 41 Alberto Gonzalez and Tom Jomby, 8-4. The victory clinched the doubles point for the Wildcats.
Freshman Greg Andrews (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) and senior-captain Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) handled Musialek and Anthony Rossi 8-4. The win moves the tandem’s record to 4-0 this season.
The 117th-ranked Gonzalez grabbed a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald at fourth singles to improve Kentucky’s lead to 2-0. At No. 5 senior David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) fell to No. 77 Rossi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
At the No. 1 spot Havens fell to fourth-ranked Quigley in the first set 6-3 and battled through the second set to eventually drop 7-5, allowing Quigley to clinch the match for Kentucky.
Andrews faced Cox at third singles and was downed in consecutive 6-4 sets.
Stahl extended his winning streak over ranked opponents as the senior downed 47th-ranked Musialek. Stahl’s win over Musialek is the highest-rated opponent he had beaten since Virginia’s 31st-ranked Drew Courtney on January 24, 2010. Prior to the Kentucky match, Stahl defeated (then) No. 80 Alexis Klegou of Texas A&M on March 4 and (then) No. 65 Abe Souza of Illinois on March 8 and the senior is currently on a four-match winning streak.
At sixth singles sophomore Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest) dropped the first set to Jomby, 6-1, but picked up the second set 7-5. Unfortunately, the sophomore was unable to grab the final set and fell 1-0 (1).
The Irish return to action when they play host to a doubleheader versus South Florida on March 27 at noon (ET) and Dayton at 6:00 p.m. (ET) at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
No. 14 Kentucky, 6 def. No. 21 Notre Dame, 1
Singles
No. 1 No. 4 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Stephen Havens (ND), 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 Daniel Stahl (ND) def. No. 47 Alex Musialek (UK), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Brad Cox (UK) def. Greg Andrews (ND), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 No. 117 Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Niall Fitzgerald (ND), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 No. 77 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. David Anderson (ND), 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 Tom Jomby (UK) def. Blas Moros (ND), 6-1, 7-5, 1-0 (1)
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1, 3, 2, 6
Doubles
No. 1 No. 48 Eric Quigley/Brad Cox (UK) def. Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND), 8-6
No. 2 No. 41 Alberto Gonzalez/Tom Jomby (UK) def. Stephen Havens/Daniel Stahl (ND), 8-4
No. 3. Greg Andrews/Tyler Davis (ND) def. Alex Musialek/Anthony Rossi (UK)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
–ND–