March 11, 2016
By Joanne Norell
CLEMSON, S.C. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team found itself on the wrong end of a back-and-forth tussle with Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Clemson on Friday, as the No. 38 Irish dropped a 4-3 decision to the Tigers at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.
The Irish (8-7, 2-1 ACC) got the first doubles decision, but couldn’t secure the point as they fell on Courts 2 & 3. Senior Alex Lawson and junior Eddy Covalschi defeated No. 77 Alex Favrot and Luke Johnson 6-3 at No. 1, but it was not enough. Senior Quentin Monaghan and junior Josh Hagar fell to Arturo Pinazo and Austin Ansari 6-4 on Court 2, and senior Nicolas Montoya and freshman Grayson Broadus lost to Robert Dudley and Daffra Sanon 6-3 at No. 3.
Notre Dame and Clemson (10-7, 1-1 ACC) traded points through the entirety of singles. Favrot defeated Lawson 6-2, 6-4 on Court 1 to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead, but Broadus downed Ansari 6-4, 6-1 on Court 4 to pull the Irish back within a point. Covalschi fell to Johnson 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 2 slot, but Hagar upended Sanon 6-4, 6-2 to again tighten the margin.
In the remaining matches on Courts 5 and 6, respectively, freshman Daniel Rayl and Montoya each forced third sets to give the Irish a chance at the victory, but Montoya fell to Christian Harris 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the next decision to seal the match for Clemson. Rayl tacked on Notre Dame’s final point with a 5-7, 7-4, 6-0 win over Dudley.
The Irish will wrap up their road trip on Sunday when they visit No. 9 Wake Forest for a noon ET tilt at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Clemson 4, No. 38 Notre Dame 3
SINGLES
1. Alex Favrot (CU) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-2, 6-4
2. Luke Johnson (CU) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-4, 6-3
3. Josh Hagar (ND) def. Daffra Sanon (CU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Austin Ansari (CU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Robert Dudley (CU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
6. Christian Harris (CU) def. Nicolas Montoya (ND) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
DOUBLES
1. Eddy Covalschi / Alex Lawson (ND) def. No. 77 Alex Favrot / Luke Johnson (CU) 6-3
2. Arturo Pinazo / Austin Ansari (CU) def. Josh Hagar / Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-4
3. Robert Dudley / Daffra Sanon (CU) def. Grayson Broadus / Nicolas Montoya (ND) 6-3
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.