March 18, 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The 38th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team was victorious on Thursday in the opening round of the 2010 Blue Gray Tennis Classic, knocking off Middle Tennessee State 4-2. The Irish’s record now improves to 8-7 after the victory.
Notre Dame jumped out to the 1-0 lead after securing the doubles point to begin the contest, despite the 61st-ranked tandem of Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa/Pine-Richland) getting knocked off by Middle Tennessee State’s team of John Peers and Kyle Wishing 8-4 to start the doubles point.
The Irish evened play up at one-apiece when David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) defeated Richard Cowden and Shaun Waters 8-3. Notre Dame secured the point when the duo of Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) held on for an 8-6 victory of Victor Melo and Matthew Langley of the Blue Raiders.
Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest School) was the first to close out a singles point for the Irish, as the freshman knocked off Langley in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 at sixth singles to move the margin to 2-0. The victory for Moros was his third consecutive and moved his record at six singles to 3-1 on the dual season.
The Blue Raiders secured their first point of the match at two singles when Melo took down Havens 6-1, 6-2 and then tied the contest up when Peers defeated the No. 27 ranked Watt at one singles 7-5, 6-4.
The Irish recaptured the lead after Anderson was able to hold off Waters at four singles 6-3, 6-4. Anderson’s record at the fourth spot improved to 5-1 and he stands at 9-4 overall on the dual slate.
Notre Dame locked up the victory with the fourth point coming from Stahl at third singles. After winning the first set 6-1, Middle Tennessee State’s Cowden rebounded to grab the second set by the same score of 6-1. Stahl would bounce right back, however, winning the decisive third set 6-0.
Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School) did not finish his match as a result of the Irish clinching but was headed to a third set with Alex McCann after splitting the first two sets 4-6, 6-3.
Notre Dame will return to action tomorrow at 2:00 (CT) when it takes on No. 26 Fresno State in second round action. The Bulldogs advanced on after a 4-0 victory over No. 71 Boise State and will enter the contest with an 11-5 record overall and a four-match winning streak.
Continue to check back with und.com for recaps of all the Notre Dame matches from the Blue Gray Tennis Classic and follow along live through the Blue Gray website (www.bluegraytennis.com), where live stats and photo galleries will be available. Coverage of day two will also be provided by Radio Tennis (www.RadioTennis.com)
Middle Tennessee State vs Notre DameMar 18, 2010 at Montgomery, Ala.
#38 Notre Dame 4, Middle Tennessee State 2
Singles1. #43 John Peers (MTSU) def. #27 Casey Watt (ND) 7-5, 6-42. Victor Melo (MTSU) def. Stephen Havens (ND) 6-1, 6-23. #86 Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Richard Cowden (MTSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-04. David Anderson (ND) def. Shaun Waters (MTSU) 6-3, 6-45. Samuel Keeton (ND) vs. Alex McCann (MTSU) 4-6, 6-3, unfinished6. Blas Moros (ND) def. Matthew Langley (MTSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles1. John Peers/Kyle Wishing (MTSU) def. David Anderson/Daniel Stahl (ND) 8-42. #61 Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (ND) def. Victor Melo/Matthew Langley (MTSU) 8-63. Tyler Davis/Niall Fitzgerald (ND) def. Richard Cowden/Shaun Waters (MTSU) 8-3
Match NotesMiddle Tennessee State 4-12Notre Dame 8-7; National ranking #38Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,6,4,1,3)2010 Blue Gray National Classic (1st round)
–ND–