MEET THE STAFF…
CALLAGHAN FAMILY HEAD MEN’S TENNIS COACH, RYAN SACHIREAs Irish head coach, Sachire has overseen the development of a pair of ITA All-Americans, tutoring Quentin Monaghan (’16) in singles (2015) and doubles (2016) and Alex Lawson in doubles (2016). Monaghan became the sixth multi-time All-American in program history, while the back-to-back All-American season marked the first time since 2006-07 that the Irish had All-Americans in consecutive years.
Monaghan’s 2015 season was an historic one in program lore, as he finished with a No. 7 ranking in the final Oracle/ITA singles rankings (third-highest in program history), earned a top 16 seed into the NCAA Singles Championships and advances to the national singles semifinals. In advancing to the final four, Monaghan became the first Irish player to do so since the team and individual tournaments became separate in 1977, and just the third to do so at all.
HEAD WOMEN’S TENNIS COACH, JAY LOUDERBACKWhen Jay Louderback took over as women’s tennis head coach at Notre Dame in the fall of 1989, he inherited a program that had competed on the Division I level for just four years and had never participated in the NCAA tournament or earned a national ranking. In the time since, Louderback has turned Notre Dame into one of the premier women’s tennis programs in the nation.
The Irish have made 23 NCAA Championship appearances in Louderback’s tenure (as of 2016), including 21 consecutive berths from 1996-2016. Notre Dame has captured 19 conference titles during Louderback’s time at the helm and has reached the Round of 16 or further in the NCAA tournament on nine occasions, including three appearances in the quarterfinals (1996, 2006, 2007) and two consecutive trips to the semifinals (2009, 2010). The Courtney Tennis Center also has served as host of the 1998 NCAA Championships, largely due to his efforts.
ASSISTANT COACH – WOMEN’S, MICHELLE DASSOOne of the most decorated women’s tennis players in Notre Dame history, Michelle Dasso returned to her alma mater in the summer of 2017 for her second stint as an assistant coach under head coach Jay Louderback.
In 2016-17, she helped Northwestern to a 15-12 mark, including a 9-2 record in Big Ten play. Northwestern ranked as high as No. 23 in 2017 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship. A pair of Wildcats also advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA doubles tournament, with Alex Chatt and Maddie Lipp finishing the season ranked No. 23. Additionally, seven Wildcats earned Academic All-Big Ten honors with Dasso on staff.
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH – MEN’S, ADAM SCHAECHTERLEAdam Schaechterle joined the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis staff in 2013 as an assistant coach, ascending to the post of associate head coach prior to the 2015-16 season. Prior to joining the Irish staff, Schaechterle, a 2006 Northwestern graduate, coached for two seasons at the University of North Florida.
In his tenure with the Irish, Schaechterle has helped tutor a pair of Irish All-Americans in Quentin Monaghan (2015 singles, 2016 doubles) and Alex Lawson (2016 doubles), while the Irish have qualified for the team NCAA Championship each season. Monaghan advanced to the 2015 NCAA singles semifinal, becoming the first Irish player since 1959 to do so. The next season, Monaghan teamed with Lawson to reach the NCAA doubles semifinal, breaking a semifinal drought that dated to 1994.
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH – MEN’S, GREG ANDREWSAndrews returns to an Irish program of which he was a two-time captain just three seasons ago. During his career, Andrews reached a No. 20 national ranking in singles and a No. 7 national ranking in doubles. He ranks second in program history in dual doubles wins (68); third in overall doubles wins (93); fifth in dual singles wins (77) and wins at No. 1 singles (38); and seventh in all-time singles wins (113). Andrews was a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year (2012 and 2013) and, as a junior, was selected as the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player after leading the Irish to their final championship title in that conference.