Jan. 16, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 29 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team kicks off the 2014 spring season at 5:30 p.m. Friday with a match against William & Mary before welcoming in No. 47 Michigan State (12 p.m.) and Toledo (6 p.m.) for a Sunday doubleheader. All three matches will be held at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
2013-14 is the first season that former Notre Dame All-American Ryan Sachire will serve as head coach of the Irish after seven years under the now-retired ITA Hall of Famer head coach Bobby Bayliss.
“All of our players and coaches are really looking forward to getting the season started this weekend,” Sachire says. “We have all put in a great deal of work to prepare ourselves, and we are excited to have three quality opponents to compete against over the next few days.”
This spring also marks the first season that the Irish will be competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The strength of the conference shows in Notre Dame’s schedule, as 17 of its future opponents are currently ranked. Sachire says his team is looking forward to the challenge.
“Regardless of what happens this weekend, we understand that this is just the next step in a process that we have been going through since late August, and we know that we will need to continue to build as the season progresses,” he explains.
Both senior Greg Andrews and sophomore Quentin Monaghan enter the season nationally ranked, with Andrews at No. 22 and Monaghan at No. 90. Andrews and sophomore Alex Lawson are also ranked 21st in doubles and sophomores Kenneth Sabacinski and Nicolas Montoya are ranked 51st.
The William & Mary men’s tennis team comes to Notre Dame with two wins under its belt already, as the Tribe won matches against both Norfolk State and Campbell earlier this week. The team went 12-15 last season and returns three seniors to its lineup.
The Spartans also began the season 2-0, taking down Detroit and Toledo last weekend at home. Michigan State posted a 14-14 record last season and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Toledo has only played against Michigan State, but the Rockets will face off against Michigan in Ann Arbor before coming to South Bend Sunday. Toledo went 19-10 last season.
In 2013, the Irish beat both William & Mary and Michigan State, 6-1. Notre Dame did not play Toledo last season. The series record for each school is as follows: Notre Dame holds the edge over all three teams – 11-2 against William & Mary, 49-32 against Michigan State and 27-2 against Toledo.
Fans can follow all three matches through live stats. Links will be available on UND.com.
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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