Jan. 22, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 37 Northwestern won the doubles point and then held on against the No. 30 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team in a thrilling 4-3 match that lasted 3:19 Tuesday night at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Northwestern won the doubles point with victories at two and three and then earned singles wins at three, four and five to claim the win over the home Irish. Three of the six singles matches went to three sets, while all three of the straight set wins saw at least one 7-5 set.
The Wildcats (5-0) took the early lead with wins at two and three doubles. Sidarth Balaji and Raleigh Smith got Northwestern off to a good start with an 8-5 win over Billy Pecor and Alex Lawson. The match was tied at four before the Wildcat duo won four of the next five games to earn the win. The doubles point was clinched at three as Alex Pasareanu and Mihir Kumar rallied from a 5-2 deficit to knock off Ryan Bandy and Matt Dooley, 8-6. At one the No. 51 Irish team of Greg Andrews and Spencer Talmadge regrouped from a 5-2 hole to only trail by one at 7-6 to Spencer Wolf and Fedor Baev when the match was called due to Northwestern clinching the doubles point.
Notre Dame was on the hunt throughout singles, battling the Wildcats in every match as the second portion of the match lasted just over two hours. Bandy evened the score at one with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Kumar at six singles. The Wildcats reclaimed the lead with a win at three singles as Balaji took down Quentin Monaghan, 7-5, 6-3. Pasareanu put Northwestern on the brink of victory with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles over No. 88 Pecor. Quickly the Irish pulled within one as No. T-110 Blas Moros snuck past No. 108 Raleigh Smith, 7-5, 7-5, at two singles.
With the match on the line, attention turned to five and one singles that were situated beside each other. Just as No. 80 Andrews was wrapping up Spencer Wolf (4-6, 6-1, 6-4) at one, Chris Jackman was closing out No. 120 Wyatt McCoy, 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, to give Northwestern the close road win.
The Irish (2-1) head to Norman, Okla., Friday as part of the ITA’s 2013 Kick-Off Weekend. Notre Dame meets No. 28 Harvard Friday and then will play either No. 8 Oklahoma or No. 33 Memphis Saturday.
Singles
No. 1: No. 80 Greg Andrews (ND) d. Spencer Wolf (NU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2: No. T-110 Blas Moros (ND) d. No. 108 Raleigh Smith (NU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3: Sidarth Balaji (NU) d. Quentin Monaghan (ND), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4: Alex Pasareanu (NU) d. No. 88 Billy Pecor (ND), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 5: Chris Jackman (NU) d. No. 120 Wyatt McCoy (ND), 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
No. 6: Ryan Bandy (ND) d. Mihir Kumar (NU), 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
Doubles
No. 1: Spencer Wolf / Fedor Baev (NU) led Greg Andrews / Spencer Talmadge (ND), 7-6, unfinished
No. 2: Sidarth Balaji / Raleigh Smith (NU) d. Billy Pecor / Alex Lawson (ND), 8-5
No. 3: Alex Pasareanu / Mihir Kumar (NU) d. Ryan Bandy / Matt Dooley (ND), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 3
–ND–