Feb. 16, 2018
By Joanne Norell
SEATTLE – After a 7-0 start to the season, the No. 22 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team lost for the first time Friday, falling 4-0 to No. 3 North Carolina in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington.
How It Happened
North Carolina went up 1-0 after doubles, with the point coming down to the final match. Eleventh-ranked William Blumberg and Robert Kelly defeated senior Brendon Kempin and freshman Tristan McCormick 6-1 on Court 1, but the Irish duo of sophomore Matt Gamble and freshman Richard Ciamarra answered with a 6-3 win over Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard on Court 3. In the remaining doubles match, junior Alex Lebedev and freshman William Howells led 4-1, but Benjamin Sigouin and Anu Kodali came back for the Tar Heels to win 7-5.
The Tar Heels won the next three singles matches to take the win. No. 57 Sigouin defeated 118th-ranked sophomore Guillermo Cabrera 6-2, 6-1; fourth-ranked Blumberg upended No. 28 Lebedev 7-5, 6-0; and No. 124 Soendergaard defeated Ciamarra 6-4, 6-1.
Up Next
The Irish will face either No. 6 Texas A&M or No. 11 Florida in the consolation bracket at noon ET Saturday at the Seattle Tennis Club.
No. 3/2 North Carolina 4, No. 22/16 Notre Dame 0
Feb. 16, 2018
Nordstrom Tennis Center
Seattle, Wash.
Singles
1. No. 4 William Blumberg (UNC) def. No. 28 Alex Lebedev (ND) 7-5, 6-0
2. No. 57 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) def. No. 118 Guillermo Cabrera (ND) 6-2, 6-1
3. Tristan McCormick (ND) vs. No. 81 Robert Kelly (UNC) 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
4. No. 124 Simon Soendergaard (UNC) def. Richard Ciamarra (ND) 6-4, 6-1
5. Matt Gamble (ND) vs. Josh Peck (UNC) 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) vs. Bo Boyden (UNC) 1-6, 2-4, unfinished
Doubles
1. No. 11 William Blumberg / Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Brendon Kempin / Tristan McCormick (ND) 6-1
2. Benjamin Sigouin / Anu Kodali (UNC) def. Alex Lebedev / William Howells (ND) 7-5
3. Richard Ciamarra / Matt Gamble (ND) def. Mac Kiger / Simon Soendergaard (UNC) 6-3
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame men’s tennis and fencing programs, in addition to assisting with football communications and overseeing production of the football Gameday Magazine. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.