Feb. 21, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. – The 50th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team (6-2) registered its fourth win over Big Ten opponent this season with a 5-2 victory over No. 37 Northwestern (8-4) Saturday evening at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center. After losing the doubles point, the Irish won the top five singles contests to claim their third straight victory. Notre Dame will be in action again tomorrow, hosting No. 40 Southern Methodist at noon (EST) in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The win was the 300th for Bob Bayliss at Notre Dame in his 16-plus seasons at the helm of the Irish program
After dropping the doubles point, the Irish battled back with two straight-set wins in singles. Senior tri-captain Matthew Scott (Oakton, Va./International School of Paris), ranked 68th in the nation defeated Northwestern’s Chuck Perrin, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 2 postion. Freshman Barry King (Dublin, Ireland/Gonzaga College) improved to 6-2 in dual-mach play topping Matt Christian, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 singles.
The Wildcats won the first set in the remaining four singles matches, but Notre Dame rallied to win three of those contests. Junior tri-captain Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School) claimed a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Christain Tempke at the No. 3 postion, giving the Irish a 3-2 advantage. At the top spot, senior tri-captain Luis Haddock (Caguas, P.R./Notre Dame H.S.) delivered the clinching win, beating NU’s Tommy Hanus 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
After the outcome was determined, Freshman Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School) outlasted the Wildcats’ Willy Lock in a match tiebreaker at No. 4 singles, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-8). Bass is now 6-2 in dual-match play and 12-4 overall.
Sophomore Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) dropped his first match of the spring season to Adam Schaechterle in a 6-3, 6-4 decison at No. 6 singles.
The Irish continue to struggle in doubles this spring, dropping two of the night’s three matches. D’Amico and Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.) delivered the only Irish win in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (9-7), over Chuck Perrin and Justin Hoeveler at No. 1 postion.
Bayliss is the second coach in school history to win 300 matches leading the Irish, doing so in 442 matches. His predecessor, Tom Fallon, had a 514-194 (.726) record in 31 years coaching Notre Dame. In his 35th year as a collegiate head coach, Bayliss holds a 582-236 (.711) record, ranking fifth among active Division I mentors in career wins.
Northwestern is tied with Michigan State as Notre Dame’s most-common opponent, with tonight marking the 73rd meeting between the two teams. The series is now tied at 36-36-1.
#50 Notre Dame 5, #37 Northwestern 2
Singles
No. 1: *Luis Haddock (ND) d.Tommy Hanus (NU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 #68 Matthew Scott (ND) d. Chuck Perrin (NU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Brent D’Amico (ND) d. Christian Tempke (NU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Stephen Bass (ND) d. Willy Lock (NU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (10-8)
No. 5 Barry King (ND) d. Matt Christian (NU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 Adam Schaechterle (NU) d. Eric Langenkamp (ND) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 D’Amico/Ryan Keckley (ND) d. Perrin/Justin Hoeveler (NU) 9-8 (9-7)
No. 2 *Hanus/Tempke (NU) d. Haddock/Scott (ND) 8-6
No. 3 Christian/Schaechterle (NU) d. Bass/King (ND) 8-5