Evanston, IL– The Irish are back on the road for a three-match stretch. Notre Dame men’s tennis challenge its No. 23 Northwestern competitors in a Sunday showdown slated for 3:30 p.m. ET in Combe Tennis Center. Over the years, the Irish have claimed 57% of the 87 matches that have been played and hope to increase the record this weekend.
"Northwestern has had a good start to their year and are ranked in the Top 25 nationally," stated Head Coach Ryan Sachire. "We are excited about the opportunity to play another strong opponent and continue to build as a group as the season moves along."
HISTORY
Notre Dame has secured 48 out of 87 matches, with the Wildcats only clinching 38 and one match resulting in a tie. Under Head Coach Ryan Sachire’s reign, the Irish have clinched 4 out of 5 and are entering Sunday’s battle with a two year winning streak over Northwestern with a one year break. Last season, the Irish and Wildcats did not meet but during the 2017-18 season, Notre Dame grasped a 5-1 road victory after dropping in doubles but coming back to defeat 5 singles opponents. During the 2016-17, the match resulted in a 4-1 win at home after claiming doubles and 3 singles matches.
RANKS
Although Notre Dame are unranked as a team, the Irish have two singles players and two doubles players that have consistently remained in the ranks since about the second week of spring play. Last week’s ACC Co-Player of the Week, Richard Ciamarra, jumped 2 spots to No. 8 in singles play with Tristan McCormick joining him in the ranks at No. 106. In doubles, Tristan McCormick and Axel Nefve claim the No. 39 spot after defeating multiple ranked doubles pairs throughout the season. The Irish duo was also named ACC Doubles Team of the Week two weeks ago. The final ranked team consists of Richard Ciamarra and Tristan McCormick as they sit at No. 44 even though they have not competed together so far this season. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 23 in the national ITA rankings as of this week. They are 8-4 overall, winning 6 out of 7 of their home matches so far. Northwestern only has one singles player ranked nationally as Dominik Stary comes in at No. 70. The longest win streak for the Wildcats so far is only two-consecutive matches.
LINKS
Follow all the action at the links below.
Live stream: https://nusports.com/showcase?Live=2122
Live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/northwestern/mtennis/xlive.htm
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