Feb. 18, 2012
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Trailing 1-0 after doubles play, the No. 30 Notre Dame men’s tennis team rallied in singles action as it won four of the six singles matches to claim the 4-3 victory over No. 28 Michigan at Varsity Tennis Courts in Ann Arbor.
The Irish (9-4) were swept in doubles play, but picked up wins at two, three, four and five singles to sneak out of Ann Arbor with the victory.
Earning victories for Notre Dame were No. 49 Greg Andrews, Sam Keeton, Niall Fitzgerald and Blas Moros.
Andrews handled Shaun Bernstein at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2, Moros defeated Barrett Franks, 6-4, 7-6 (3), at No. 5 singles and Alex Buzzi knocked off Michael Moore, 7-5, 7-5, in the three straight-set singles matches.
From there, the rest of the matches were battles. No. 1 singles player Casey Watt narrowly missed out on an upset bid over No. 8 Evan King, falling in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.
At No. 4 singles Fitzgerald outlasted Michael Zhu in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
The Irish closed out the match at No. 3 singles. Keeton dropped the first set to Alex Petrone, but rallied back to win in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Notre Dame returns to the friendly confines of Eck Tennis Pavilion next weekend it plays host to Michigan State and Marquette on Sunday. The match with the Spartans begins at 10 a.m., while the Golden Eagles and Irish will do battle at 5 p.m.
Complete Results
Singles
No. 1 Singles
No. 8 Evan King (UM) d. Casey Watt (ND), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 Singles
No. 49 Greg Andrews (ND) d. Shaun Bernstein (UM), 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Singles
Sam Keeton (ND) d. Alex Petrone (UM), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
No. 4 Singles
Niall Fitzgerald (ND) d. Michael Zhu (UM), 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
No. 5 Singles
Blas Moros (ND) d. Barrett Franks (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
No. 6 Singles
Alex Buzzi (UM) d. Michael Moore (ND), 7-5, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1, 4, 3, 6
Doubles
No. 1 Doubles
No. 10 Evan King / Shaun Bernstein (UM) d. Casey Watt / Niall Fitzgerald (ND), 8-5
No. 2 Doubles
Barrett Franks / Alex Buzzi (UM) d. Greg Andrews / Spencer Talmadge (ND), 8-5
No. 3 Doubles
Alex Petrone / Michael Zhu (UM) d. Sam Keeton / Billy Pecor (ND), 9-8 (6)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
–ND–