Oct. 3, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team will welcome four opposing teams to the Courtney Tennis Center and the Eck Tennis Pavilion the weekend for the first annual Bobby Bayliss Invitational.
The three-day tournament gets underway on Friday at 2 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s play starting at 9 a.m. Going off the rankings at the end of last season, the no. 31 Irish will be joined by Western Michigan, Cleveland State, no. 47 Louisville and no. 45 Michigan State.
Players will be grouped in pools, and the tournament will follow a point system based on match wins in certain pools. At the end of the weekend, the points will be tallied to crown a Most Outstanding Player and an all-tournament team for the invitational.
“It’s nice for our guys to be able to play at home,” said volunteer assistant coach Cris James. “It’s a good opportunity for them to all get a lot of matches in. We’re hoping to do really well in this tournament, but more importantly, we hope that the guys show improvement on the things we’ve been working on in practice.”
Previously titled the Tom Fallon Invitational after the Irish men’s tennis coach from 1957-1987, the tournament was renamed the Bobby Bayliss Invitational this year following the retirement of Bayliss at the end of the 2012-13 season. Bayliss’ career at Notre Dame included 22 NCAA Championships appearances, including an NCAA runner-up finish in 1992. The Irish also won the BIG EAST Championships nine times under the former coach. Bayliss was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame earlier in 2013.
“Bobby is a fixture of the program, and we wanted to recognize him for all he has done to elevate this program to new heights,” said head coach Ryan Sachire. “He left a legacy few in the sport can match. It’s only fitting to name the tournament after him.”
A complete recap of the Bobby Bayliss Invitational will be available at the conclusion of each day on UND.com.
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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