Feb. 17, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 23 Irish men’s tennis team is set to face No. 27 Michigan Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (ET) and No. 24 North Carolina on Sunday at noon, both matches will be played at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
IRISH NOTES:
The Irish are currently 6-3 on the season and are on a four-match winning streak. Since dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 14 Duke, Notre Dame has defeated Toledo (7-0), (then) No. 39 Wisconsin (6-1), Marquette (7-0) and (then) No. 56 Michigan State (5-2), moving to No. 23 in the ITA/Campbell’s Men’s National Rankings. Junior Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) is ranked No. 77 in the ITA Singles Rankings. In doubles, seniors Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) are ranked 28th and junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and sophomore Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) are No. 51. The Irish have won the doubles point in eight of the nine matches this season.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
The Wolverines enter the weekend with a 4-3 record and are ranked 27th. Sophomore Evan King is ranked No. 48 in the ITA Singles Rankings, while senior Jason Jung is No. 54. In doubles, King and Jung are ranked No. 39. Michigan began the season defeating Western Michigan (7-0), before dropping a 4-3 decision to (then) No. 5 Texas and a 7-0 score to No. 14 Duke, before picking up three wins versus (then) No. 25 Virginia Tech (4-2), (then) No. 21 Wake Forest (6-1) and (then) No. 23 Washington (4-3). Most recently, the Wolverines dropped to Vanderbilt.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. WOLVERINES
Notre Dame v. Wolverines Mich., 44-38
Notre Dame v. Wolverines under Bayliss 17-7
Bayliss v. Wolverines 17-7
First Meeting (1923) Mich., 0-5
Most Recent Meeting (2010) Mich., 4-3
SCOUTING THE TARHEELS
The Tarheels are No. 24 and carry a 3-3 record entering the weekend, picking up wins against Charlotte (7-0), (then) No. 23 Georgia Tech (4-3) and Navy (7-0). North Carolina fell to (then) No. 11 Georgia (4-1), (then) No. 28 Auburn (7-0) and No. 4 Ohio State (6-1). In the singles rankings, sophomore Jose Hernandez is No. 30, junior Joey Burkhardt is No. 71, junior Brennan Boyajian is No. 101 and senior Stefan Hardy is No. 107. Boyajian and Hernandez are No. 20 in the doubles rankings, while Hardy and junior Zach Hunter are No. 44.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. TARHEELS
Notre Dame v. Tarheels UNC, 10-7
Notre Dame v. Tarheels under Bayliss 7-7
Bayliss v. Tarheels 7-7
First Meeting (1955) UNC, 9-0
Most Recent Meeting (2008) UNC, 5-0
BAYLISS ON THE COMPETITION:
“This weekend we are facing two teams that traditionally are ranked among the nation’s elite,” says head coach Bobby Bayliss. “Each has a national tradition and each has been the dominant team in its conference’s history (Big Ten, ACC). Both teams are very good at the top of their respective lineups and each has adequate depth. Michigan is getting better each week and North Carolina is continuing last year’s pace when they were a top-20 team all year. Many of our matches have been very close this year that I expect that again this weekend.”
Complete results and a recap will be posted to und.com following the matches.
–ND–