Feb. 29, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 26 Notre Dame men’s tennis team dropped a Wednesday afternoon match, 5-2, to in-state rival No. 29 Indiana at the IU Tennis Center.
With the win the Hoosiers improved to 2-0 on the year against the Irish.
Notre Dame picked up wins at one and two singles and had opportunities to win doubles and No. 4 singles as the match proved to be closer than the final score indicated.
The Irish fell behind early after losing the doubles point in heart-breaking fashion. Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead as the team of Spencer Talmadge and Greg Andrews improved to 9-1 on the year with a quick 8-3 victory over Josh MacTaggart and Alastair Barnes.
The Hoosiers tied the doubles score up as Jeremy Langer and Isade Juneau dispatched Niall Fitzgerald and Casey Watt, 8-5.
The doubles point came down to the No. 3 matchup of Notre Dame’s Sam Keeton and Wyatt McCoy and IU’s Will Kendall and Stephen Vogl. The Irish rallied from an early hole to tie the match at seven, but couldn’t hold serve, falling 9-7.
Notre Dame has now lost the doubles point in four of their five losses.
In singles action, the Hoosiers quickly extended their lead to 3-0 as Kendall blew past McCoy, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 6 singles, and Vogl topped Blas Moros, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 5 singles.
Langer closed out the match for the Hoosiers at No. 3 singles as he knocked off Keeton, 6-3, 6-4.
Andrews (15-1) got the Irish on the board with a straight-set 6-3, 7-5 win over MacTaggart at No. 2 singles.
Watt never gave up at No. 1 singles, earning a three-set win. After losing the first set, 6-3, he trailed in the second 6-5. However, the Gibsonia, Pa., product rallied to claim a 7-6 (8-6) win in the set to force a third set superset, which he won 10-8 to improve to 10-6 on the year.
Indiana gave the match its final score as Dimitrije Tasic bounced back from a first-set loss at No. 4 singles to knock off Fitzgerald in the superset, 6-7 (7-2), 6-4, 1-0 (10-6).
The Irish are now 5-5 on the year against ranked foes and 3-2 in their region.
Notre Dame (11-5, 1-0 BIG EAST) returns to action this weekend when it plays host to No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., and No. 58 Maryland on Sunday at 11 a.m.
RESULTS
SINGLES
No. 1 Singles
Casey Watt (ND) d. Isade Juneau (IU), 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-8)
No. 2 Singles
Greg Andrews (ND) d. Josh MacTaggart (IU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 Singles
Jeremy Langer (IU) d. Sam Keeton (ND), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Singles
Dimitrije Tasic (IU) d. Niall Fitzgerald (ND), 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
No. 5 Singles
Stephen Vogl (IU) d. Blas Moros (ND), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Singles
Will Kendall (IU) d. Wyatt McCoy (ND), 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4
DOUBLES
No. 1 Doubles
Jeremy Langer / Isade Juneau (IU) d. Niall Fitzgerald / Casey Watt, 8-5
No. 2 Doubles
Greg Andrews / Spencer Talmadge (ND) d. Josh MacTaggart / Alastair Barnes (IU), 8-3
No. 3 Doubles
Will Kendall / Stephen Vogl d. Sam Keeton / Wyatt McCoy, 9-7
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
–ND–