Jan. 25, 2009
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Notre Dame men’s tennis team fell at fifth-ranked Virginia by a 7-0 margin on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, Notre Dame’s record moves to 1-2 in the early stages of the dual season, while the Cavaliers improve to 3-0 on the season.
The match got underway with doubles play at the Boyd Tinsley Courts in the Boar’s Head Sports Complex. The Cavaliers earned their first win at third doubles as Lee Singer and Drew Courtney defeated Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Matt Johnson (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS), 8-2.
At first doubles, Notre Dame’s 37th-ranked duo of Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan HS) met UVA’s third-ranked team of Sanam Singh and Houston Barrick. Sanam and Barrick proved victorious, 8-4, as Helgeson and Davis could not come back after falling behind 3-1. It was the clinching doubles win for Virginia.
At second doubles, Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) faced the 27th-ranked team of Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz. After building a 3-2 lead, Watt and Havens found themselves down by a 4-3 margin before tying the match at 7-7. But the Irish duo was outlasted 8-7 (9-7) in what proved to be the last doubles match to finish.
At first singles 20th-ranked Helgeson matched up against 43rd-ranked Dominic Inglot. In the first set, Helgeson fell behind 4-2 but rebounded to take a 5-4 lead. Serving for the set, Helgeson closed things out for a 6-4 win. The Irish captain then battled through a second set in which he took a 4-3 lead. But Inglot tied the set at 5-5 and went on to win 7-5. Inglot then won the third-set tie-break, 10-7.
At second singles, 24th-ranked Singh defeated Havens in straight sets 6-1, 6-0. Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman), ranked 112th, fell at third singles to 11th-ranked Shabaz in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
Watt, lining up at fourth singles for the third consecutive match, faced 68th-ranked Barrick. Watt kept the first set close as the two were tied at 2-2 before he ultimately lost 6-4. In the second set, Watt made it 4-2 after falling behind 3-0, but he ended up dropping the set by a 6-2 margin.
Virginia’s 109th-ranked Singer knocked-off Fitzgerald 6-2, 6-3 at fifth singles. At sixth singles, David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich HS) dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision.
The Irish return to the courts on Wednesday, January 28 when they play host to the 11th-ranked Seminoles of Florida State. The match will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
#30 Notre Dame vs. #5 VirginiaSunday, January 25, 2009Boyd Tinsley Courts - Charlottesville, Va.
#5 Virginia 7, #30 Notre Dame 0
Singles competition1. #43 Dominic Inglot (UVA) def. #20 Brett Helgeson (UND) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)2. #24 Sanam Singh (UVA) def. Stephen Havens (UND) 6-1, 6-03. #11 Michael Shabaz (UVA) def. #112 Daniel Stahl (UND) 6-1, 6-24. #68 Houston Barrick (UVA) def. Casey Watt (UND) 6-4, 6-25. #109 Lee Singer (UVA) def. Niall Fitzgerald (UND) 6-2, 6-36. #108 Drew Courtney (UVA) def. David Anderson (UND) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition1. #3 Singh/Barrick (UVA) def. #37 Helgeson/Tyler Davis (UND) 8-42. #27 Inglot/Shabaz (UVA) def. Havens/Watt (UND) 8-7 (7)3. Singer/Courtney (UVA) def. Fitzgerald/Matt Johnson (UND) 8-2
Match Notes:Virginia 3-0; National ranking #5Notre Dame 1-2; National ranking #30Order of finish: Doubles (3,1*,2); Singles (2,3,5*,6,4,1)
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