Feb. 27, 2011
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 26th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team fell to No. 17 Texas Tech in a 4-0 decision at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala. Junior Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and freshman Greg Andrews (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) grabbed a win at third doubles. The duo downed Raphael Pfister and Gabriel Wanderley, 8-6.
The 28th-ranked Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) dropped 8-6 to No. 76 Raony Carvalho and Rafael Garcia at first doubles.
Watt and Andrews were able to keep the doubles match going, pulling away to an 8-6 win over Pfister and Wanderley at third doubles.
The win wasn’t enough to gain the point, as 51st-ranked junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and sophomore Spencer Talamdge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) were edged 9-7 by No. 59 Gonzalo Escobar and Vitor Manzini at second doubles to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead.
No. 77 Watt was downed by No. 18 Escobar in identical 6-2 sets at the No. 1 position. The junior concluded the weekend tournament with a 1-2 singles record.
Havens fell to 22nd-ranked Carvalho in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0.
Senior Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) was defeated by No. 116 Garcia in a two-set match (6-1, 6-1).
The remaining three matches went unfinished in order to continue with the tournament. At the No. 4 position, Andrews had defeated Manzini, 6-4 in the first set and was trailing 5-2 in the second set before the match was halted. Fitzgerald had downed Wanderley 6-3 in the first set and the pair were even at 3-3 in the second set at No. 5. Sophomore Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine-Crest) dominated Ryan Ybarra in the first set, 6-0 and the score was at 5-5 in the second set before being abandoned.
The Irish have the week off before they have a three-match home stand, beginning with No. 14 Texas A&M on Friday, March 4, followed by No. 67 Northwestern Sunday, March 6 and No. 7 Illinois on Tuesday, March 8. All three matches will be played at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind.
No. 17 Texas Tech, 4 No. 26 Notre Dame, 0
Doubles:
No. 1: No. 76 Raony Carvalho/Rafael Garcia (Tech) def. No. 28 Tyler Davis/Stephen Havens (ND), 8-6
No. 2: No. 59 Gonzalo Escobar/Vitor Manzini (Tech) def. No. 51 Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND), 9-7
No. 3: Casey Watt/Greg Andrews (ND) def. Raphael Pfister/Gabriel Wanderley (Tech), 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles:
No. 1: No. 18 Gonzalo Escobar (Tech) def. No. 77 Casey Watt (ND), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2: No. 22 Raony Carvalho (Tech) def. Stephen Havens (ND), 6-1, 6-0
No. 3: No. 116 Rafael Garcia (Tech) def. Daniel Stahl (ND), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4: Greg Andrews (ND) vs. Vitor Manzini (Tech), 6-4, 2-5, (unfinished)
No. 5: Niall Fitzgerald (ND) vs. Gabriel Wanderley (Tech), 6-3, 3-3, (unfinished)
No. 6: Blas Moros (ND) vs. Ryan Ybarra (Tech), 6-0, 5-5, (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
–ND–