May 12, 2002

NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships
Second Round
Courtney Tennis Center
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.
May 12, 2002

Second Round: NOTRE DAME 4, PURDUE 0

Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss

On the match today…
“We knew they played great doubles. We felt that if we could win the doubles point, we had a really good chance to win the match. It couldn’t have been any closer. It came down to one point, and it was half an inch out. We’re excited to beat Purdue and really excited to advance to College Station… Purdue fought hard. We played a good match. We have positioned ourselves all season to be here.”

On matching up with Illinois/Indiana State…
“We are playing Illinois who is ranked third in the country. We beat them once. We lost to them once. We feel we have a fair shot to win, and that’s all you can ask for…It will be a great match-up, and we feel it will be a toss-up.”

Notre Dame senior Aaron Talarico

On the match today…
“We’ll I’ve played here, this is my fourth year, senior year. It was a great feeling to play here for four years and then clinch the match. It pays off. It just feels really good. It was a great way to go out. I will remember it forever.”

On matching up with Illinois/Indiana State…
“Indiana State…I feel good about Indiana State. We played them earlier and beat them. Illinois I feel great about also. It should be a great match-up. They’ve kind of been on the upper-hand of it lately, but we took them down this year, and I think we can do it again, if that’s who we play.”

Notre Dame sophomore Luis Haddock-Morales

On clinching the doubles point today…
“I am happy that Brent and I had the opportunity to get this important point for our team both yesterday and today. It was nice for Brent (D’Amico) and I because we really have not had the chance to play much with each other this year. It was great for the team that we were able to come through. Winning the doubles point gives the entire team a level of confidence that carries right over into the singles matches.”

On Notre Dame’s next match…
“We are going to have another tough match on our hands, but our team is excited about the challenge. We are playing well right now as a team and each one of us has the ability to win a clinching singles match for us. We will be coming in excited and with confidence.”

Purdue head coach Tim Madden

On the match today…
“Both teams take a lot of pride in their doubles play. Whoever came away with the doubles point was going to have a lot of energy going into the rest of the match. In doubles, we let a couple things happen that Notre Dame took advantage of. We knew coming in that Notre Dame is the team to beat in our region and that this would be a tough match. I think Notre Dame took a lot of confidence into singles play after they won at No. 3 doubles. We played as hard as we could, being competitive at every court. I give a lot of credit to Notre Dame.”

On the Notre Dame team…
“I think Notre Dame plays so great as a team and I believe that starts with the coach. Every time we play them, it is difficult match. Notre Dame always sends six quality players out there to play singles. They have great senior leadership and that is what is allowing them to continue advancing in this tournament. If we have to lose before the round of 16, I would rather lose to Notre Dame who plays like a team and has great leadership.”