Oct. 22, 2015
ITA Midwest Regional Championships Qualifying Draw
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A pair of University of Notre Dame men’s tennis players impressed on the first day of the ITA Midwest Regional Championships on Thursday, moving on to the final round of qualifying ahead of the opening rounds of the main draw on Friday.
Eighth-seeded freshman Daniel Rayl and 14th-seeded sophomore Brendon Kempin each scored a pair of victories to advance to Friday’s final qualifying matches. Rayl upended Marquette’s Mackenzie Stearns, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round and moved on to defeat Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Matej Kostandinov, 6-2, 6-4.
Kempin beat Valparaiso’s Lucas Waak 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3 in first-round action, then went on to sit down Michigan State’s Alex Kim 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Both Rayl and Kempin will play again at 8 a.m. ET Friday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The final qualifying singles round will be followed by the first rounds of both the main singles and doubles draws. Main draws will be posted when they become available.
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ITA Midwest Regional Championships
October 22-26, 2015
Eck Tennis Pavilion | Lakeland Athletics Club
Thursday
Qualifying Singles First Round
[8] Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Mackenzie Stearns (MU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
[14] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Lucas Waak (Valpo), 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3
Daniel Loebel (WMU) def. [11] Drew Dawson (ND), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Gleb Sklyr (MU) def. [13] Nathan Griffin (ND), 6-3, 6-3
Qualifying Singles Second Round
[8] Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Matej Kostandinov (UWGB), 6-2, 6-4
[14] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Alex Kim (MSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Consolation Matches
Nathan Griffin (ND) def. Darius MacKenzie (UW), 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
Colin Harvey (MSU) def. Drew Dawson (ND), 6-7(10), 6-4, 10-5
Friday
Qualifying Singles Final Round
[8] Daniel Rayl (ND) vs. [16] Chad Kissell (Valpo), 8 a.m. Eck Tennis Pavilion
[14] Brendon Kempin (ND) vs. Matej Svjetlicic (WMU), 8 a.m. Eck Tennis Pavilion
-ND-
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant 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 women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.