April 12, 2006
Thursday’s matchup between the top two men’s tennis teams in the BIG EAST Conference, 17th-ranked Notre Dame (14-7) and #29 Louisville (15-6), has been moved back one-half hour and will now begin at 4 p.m. (ET) at the Courtney Tennis Center on the Notre Dame campus (in case of rain, the match will be played in the Eck Tennis Pavilion). The change was made to accommodate the academic schedules of the Irish players.
It will be the first time two BIG EAST Conference teams ranked among the nation’s top 30 have squared off since #14 Miami beat the 12th-ranked Irish 4-2 in the title match of the 2001 league tournament final. Louisville will be making its first trip to Notre Dame for men’s tennis since 1957, and just its second overall. It will be the first match between the schools as conference rivals, though the Cardinals prevailed 4-1 against Notre Dame in the opening round of last year’s NCAA tournament. The Irish lead the all-time series by a 4-1 count. Thursday also will be the final home match for Notre Dame seniors Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) and Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.).