April 22, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team, currently ranked 13th in the country, has secured the No. 4 seed for this weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Championship. Five of the 12 teams in the tournament are ranked among the top 20 in the country, and head coach Ryan Sachire knows this weekend will be yet another opportunity for this team to show what it is made of.
“Our coaches and players are really excited about the ACC Championships this weekend, as it’s always fun to play in events with other elite teams,” Sachires says. “However, we are also treating it with the proper perspective. We’ve played in a lot of big matches on a lot of big stages already this year, so we it see as another opportunity to play great tennis and compete against other great teams, but we will be consistent with how we have prepared all season long.”
The tournament begins Thursday, April 24 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C., but Notre Dame’s seed grants them a first-round bye. The Irish will play either Clemson or Boston College in the quarterfinals on Friday at noon.
“It’s nice having an opening round bye because it is a reflection of the season that our players have had to this point,” Sachire adds. “But we are really healthy and feeling great about where we are as a team at this stage in the season, so I don’t think it will make a huge deal for us physically. We will be excited and ready to play on Friday.”
In addition to Notre Dame, teams that received first-round byes include No. 1 Virginia (20-2, 11-0 ACC), No. 2 Duke (18-5, 10-1) and No. 3 North Carolina (22-4, 9-2).
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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