March 2, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 29 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team heads to Madison, Wis., this weekend for a Sunday showdown with No. 59 Wisconsin. The match is slated to get underway at 3 p.m. (ET).
The Irish (6-5) are coming off a tough 7-0 loss on the road at then-No. 4 Ohio State last Saturday. Notre Dame has weathered a brutal schedule thus far by earning three ranked wins. All five losses have come to top 37 teams, including three losses to top-seven teams.
After only competing once since Feb. 16, the Irish play two matches in three days as they welcome in No. 17 Illinois to the Eck Tennis Pavilion for a 6 p.m. match Tuesday.
Notre Dame boasts a pair of ranked singles players in No. 97 Greg Andrews and No. 102 Blas Moros. Andrews is 6-4 at the top singles spot, while Moros is 5-4 playing between two and three singles. Freshman Quentin Monaghan and junior Ryan Bandy continue to show steady play for the Irish throughout the early part of the spring season. Monaghan is 7-2 playing between two and three singles, while Bandy is 4-2 at six.
The Badgers (7-1) have gotten off to a hot start to open the 2013 dual season, including an upset of then-No. 40 Minnesota to open Big Ten play. Billy Bertha holds down their top spot and sports a 3-4 record. Petr Satral has an impressive 7-1 record at three, while Alexander Kostanov is a perfect 7-0 going between four and five singles. In doubles Bertha and Oskar Wikberg are 4-2 at the top doubles spot.
Notre Dame holds a 50-16 lead all-time against the Badges including a 20-5 record under newly minted ITA Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bayliss, who will be inducted May 22 in Champaign, Ill., during the NCAA Championships.
Neither live stats nor live video will be available, but updates on the team’s Facebook (facebook.com/NDMensTennis) and Twitter (@NDMensTennis) pages will be available and a full match recap will be posted on UND.com following the completion of the contest.
–ND–