March 29, 2005
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 20th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team (15-5) turned in its fifth shutout of the season, defeating #68 Purdue (3-9) by a 7-0 score Monday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Irish, who have won 15 or more of their first 20 matches for the third time in the last five years, improved to 6-1 against Big Ten Conference opponents.
Notre Dame won the doubles point and then took all six in singles – five in straight sets, one in three sets, and one in a match tiebreaker.
The Irish won the top two doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. First off the court was senior co-captain Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School [TX]) and junior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.), who beat Sounak Chatterjee and Filip Koziell 8-4 at No. 1.
Sophomores Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.) and Barry King (Dublin, Ireland/Gonzaga College) clinched the doubles point by beating David Robinson and Paul Rose 8-5 at No. 2. The pair is now unbeaten in two matches as a team.
Purdue’s lone victory of the day came at No. 3 doubles, where Colin Foster and Scott Warner topped Irish sophomore Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) and freshman Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.) 8-6.
First off the court in singles was D’Amico, who beat Chatterjee 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2. He snapped a five-match losing streak (four vs. ranked players; three in three sets).
Bass put the Irish within a point of victory with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Rose at No. 1. He has now won 10 of his last 12 matches and is 23-10 overall this season, including 13-7 in dual matches (6-4 at No. 1).
The clinching victory came from sophomore Irackli Akhvlediani (Vienna, Austria/Vienna International School), who defeated Jarred Leibner 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5. It was the second clinching victory in a row and third of the spring for the native of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. He has won five straight and holds a 25-10 overall mark this season, including 12-5 in dual-match play and 15-3 against the Midwest Region.
The final straight-set win came from King at No. 3, when he topped Koziell 6-3, 6-1. He stands 23-7 on the season and 16-4 in dual play. King has won 12 of his last 14 matches and is 13-4 against the Midwest Region.
Parbhu lost the first set, but came back to use a match tiebreaker for victory at No. 4, defeating Robinson 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7). Parbhu is now 26-7 this season, including 14-3 in dual action and 9-2 against regional players.
Junior Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) won the longest match, topping Foster 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 6. On the season, Buchanan leads the Irish in singles victories with a 27-8 record, including 17-2 vs. regional foes. It was his fifth three-set victory in seven such matches this season.
Notre Dame improved to 6-1 against Big Ten Conference opponents this season, having topped Indiana (5-2), Wisconsin (6-1), Northwestern (5-2), Michigan State (4-3), Michigan (5-2), and the Boilers. The lone defeat came against #3 Illinois.
The Irish beat Purdue for the 16th consecutive time, including three shutouts in the last five matches.
It was the first time the Irish shut out an opponent on their home courts since a 7-0 win at Wisconsin on Feb. 4, 2003. The last time Notre Dame beat a ranked foe in a true road match was on Feb. 20, 2002, a 7-0 affair at #60 Michigan State.
Notre Dame now has five 7-0 victories this season, marking the most since the Irish posted seven in 1994-95.
Notre Dame will return to action on Sunday when they travel to #44 Southern Methodist for a 1 p.m. (EST) contest.
#20 Notre Dame 7, #68 Purdue 0
Singles
No. 1: Stephen Bass (ND) def. Paul Rose (P) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2: Brent D’Amico (ND) def. Sounak Chatterjee (P) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: Barry King (ND) def. Filip Koziell (P) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4: Sheeva Parbhu (ND) def. David Robinson (P) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 5: Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) def. Jarred Leibner (P) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6: Patrick Buchanan (ND) def. Colin Foster (P) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 1, 5*, 3, 4, 6
Doubles
No. 1: D’Amico/Eric Langenkamp (ND) def. Chatterjee/Koziell (P) 8-4
No. 2: Ryan Keckly/King (ND) def. Robinson/Rose (P) 8-5
No. 3: Foster/Scott Warner (P) def. Stephen Bass/Parbhu (ND) 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 2*, 3