Feb. 19, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 23 Notre Dame men’s tennis team fought hard against No. 27 Michigan, but the Wolverines grabbed a 4-3 victory Saturday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind. Junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) earned wins at second doubles and the No. 6 position in singles.
The Irish again started off to an early lead, claiming the doubles point for the ninth time in 10 matches. Freshman Greg Andrews (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) and junior Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) earned the first doubles win at the third position. The duo battled Shaun Bernstein and Chris Cha back and forth before winning the match, 8-6.
Junior Fitzgerald and sophomore Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) came out to an early 4-1 lead at the second position. The pair was able to maintain their lead and defeated Barrett Franks and Chris Madden, 8-5 to clinch the doubles point.
Seniors No. 28 Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) fell to No. 39 Evan King and Jason Jung. The match was at 3-3, before Jung and King pulled away for an 8-3 victory.
No. 77 Watt fell to No. 48 King at the No. 1 position in a two-set match (6-2, 6-1) to start off the singles action for the day. Havens was downed by No. 54 Jung, 6-3, 6-1, moving the score to 2-1 in Michigan’s favor. The No. 5 position finished next, Davis was downed by Franks. The left-handed Irish captain battled in both sets, but ultimately, Franks was able to pull away in each set.
Andrews picked up the first singles win for the Irish. At the No. 4 position, the freshman defeated Justin Rossi in a two-set match (6-4, 7-5). In the first set, Andrews was able to stay out front through the entire match to reach his 6-4 victory, but in the second set, it wasn’t until the score reached 5-5 that he was able to pull away to earn a 7-5 win to move the score to 3-2 (Michigan).
Fitzgerald started at the No. 6 position and produced a win for the Irish, topping Cha in a 6-4, 7-5 decision. Fitzgerald, who has been a key doubles player this season, moved into the singles line up after junior Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill) was unable to compete. Fitzgerald’s win, moved the score to 3-3.
The match concluded with the No. 3 position, senior Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) fought hard against Shaun Bernstein, but dropped 7-6 (10-8), 6-4. After battling through the first set, Stahl came out to an early 3-1 lead, but it wasn’t enough as he lost the set 6-4 and No. 27 Michigan defeated No. 23 Notre Dame.
The Irish have a quick turnaround as they face No. 24 North Carolina Sunday at Noon at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
No. 27 Michigan (5-3) def. No. 23 Notre Dame (6-4), 4-3
Doubles:
No. 1 No. 39 Evan King/Jason Jung (Mich.) def. No. 28 Tyler Davis/Stephen Havens (ND), 8-3
No. 2 No. 51 Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND) v. Barrett Franks/Chris Madden (Mich.), 8-5
No. 3 Casey Watt/Greg Andrews (ND) v. Shaun Bernstein/Chris Cha (Mich.), 8-6
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
No. 1 No. 48 Evan King (Mich.) def. No. 77 Casey Watt (ND), 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 No. 54 Jason Jung (Mich.) def. Stephen Havens (ND), 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 Shaun Bernstein (Mich.) def. Daniel Stahl (ND), 7-6 (10-8), 6-4
No. 4 Greg Andrews (ND) def. Justin Rossi (Mich.), 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 Barrett Franks (Mich.) def. Tyler Davis (ND), 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 Niall Fitzgerald (ND) def. Chris Cha (Mich.), 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 3
–ND-