Feb. 27, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Fighting Irish men’s tennis team snapped a three-match losing streak in emphatic fashion by defeating Michigan State 6-1 inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Saturday evening. The Irish swept doubles play and sophomore Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) clinched the victory with his win at No. 1 singles.
The win marked Notre Dame’s 21st in a row against Michigan State and moved the Irish to 4-5 on the season. The Spartans are now 7-4. Notre Dame also improved to 4-1 on the season when claiming the doubles point.
The Irish jumped out to a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point via wins at all three doubles positions. At third doubles, David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) downed Michigan State’s 45th-ranked team of Denis Bogatov and Clark Richardson 8-2. Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Joe Vallee and Jason Norville at No. 2 doubles. Fitzgerald and Davis were up 4-3 and rattled off four straight games to earn the win. At No. 1 doubles, Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Watt won a tightly contested match — which was tied five times — over Austin Brooks and John Stratton 8-7 (7-2).
The Irish took a 2-0 lead when Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School) downed Will Davis in straight sets 6-0, 6-4. Keeton is now 3-0 at No. 6 singles and 4-0 in 2010 dual season singles play. Anderson put the Irish up 3-0 with a win at the No. 4 position. He beat Norville 6-1, 6-4. Dating back to last season, Anderson improved to 11-1 in his last 14 duals season singles matches.
Watt then clinched the Notre Dame win by beating Ronnie Hulewicz at No 1 singles 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. It was Watt’s fourth singles win of the season. Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) continued the Irish dominance with a win against Bogatov 6-2, 7-5 at No. 3 singles.
At No. 2 singles, Havens squared off against Austin Brooks. After dropping the first set 4-6, Havens battled back to win the second set 6-4. With the overall match already decided, Havens recorded a 10-4 win in the tiebreaker to take the match. Stratton got the Spartans on the board with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 win at No. 5 singles over Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest School).
The Irish are back in action tomorrow, Feb. 28 as they play host to both Wisconsin and Toledo. The match versus the Badgers is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm and the Toledo match will begin at 6:00 pm inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The matches will feature live scoring on und.com, where a complete recap will be posted following the twin bill.
Notes
Notre Dame now leads the all-time series with Michigan State 47-32 and has won the last 21 meetings … under head coach Bobby Bayliss, Notre Dame holds a 20-1 record versus the Spartans … Notre Dame has faced a ranked opponent in seven of its nine matches (the Campbell/ITA rankings slot the top-75 teams) … dating back to March 28 of last season, David Anderson is 11-1 in his last 14 dual season singles starts (two matches unfinished) … Sam Keeton is 3-0 at No. 6 singles and 4-0 overall in the 2010 dual season (other start was at No. 9 singles vs. Virginia) … four of Notre Dame’s nine matches have been decided by just one point … Notre Dame is 4-1 on the season when claiming the doubles point.
Tennis Match ResultsMichigan State vs. Notre DameFeb 27, 2010 at Notre Dame, Ind.
#41 Notre Dame 6, Michigan State 1
Singles1. #28 Casey Watt (ND) def. Ronnie Hulewicz (MSU) 7-6, 6-22. #123 Stephen Havens (ND) def. Austin Brooks (MSU) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)3. #101 Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Denis Bogatov (MSU) 6-2, 7-54. David Anderson (ND) def. Jason Norville (MSU) 6-1, 6-45. John Stratton (MSU) def. #105 Blas Moros (ND) 7-6 (7-4), 6-06. Samuel Keeton (ND) def. Will Davis (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles1. Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (ND) def. Austin Brooks/John Stratton (MSU) 8-7 (7-2)2. Tyler Davis/Niall Fitzgerald (ND) def. Jason Norville/Joe Vallee (MSU) 8-33. David Anderson/Spencer Talmadge (ND) def. #45 Denis Bogatov/Clark Richardson (MSU) 8-2
Match NotesMichigan State 7-4Notre Dame 4-5; National ranking #41Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,4,1,3,2,5)
–ND–