May 10, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a match that lasted well over four hours, the No. 37 Washington Huskies outlasted the No. 28 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Championship Friday morning at the Varsity Tennis Courts on the campus of Ohio State University.
After senior Blas Moros won in three sets at three to tie the score at 3-3, all eyes turned to court No. 2 where Notre Dame’s Quentin Monaghan was battling Washington’s Marton Bots.
The two had a hotly contested first set as the set went to a tiebreaker that Bots won 10-8 to claim the first set, 7-6. Monaghan quickly answered with a 6-2 win in the second set to tie the score up at one each. The third set began as a close affair with Monaghan leading 2-1. However, the weather forced the match inside, causing a 30-minute delay. Monaghan took a 3-1 lead indoors but then Bots took over to win 6-3 and help the Huskies advance to the second round.
With the loss the Irish finish their season at 19-8. It was quite as a season for Notre Dame in ITA Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bayliss’ last year, as the Irish won the BIG EAST Championship for the ninth time and swept the league’s major awards. Included in the season was a nine-match winning streak and victories over nine teams that were ranked in the final ITA poll before the NCAAs began.
Junior Greg Andrews will continue his season at the NCAA Singles Championship, which gets underway Wednesday, May 22 in Champaign, Ill. His first round opponent will be announced at a later date.
“We gave it our best shot, but just couldn’t quite get it done,” said Bayliss. “Even in the loss I thought Blas (Moros) did an unbelievable job of playing well under pressure even as he was battling an illness, Greg (Andrews) looked good against a highly-ranked player and Wyatt (McCoy) got us on the board when we needed a point.
“It’s difficult to channel all my emotions right now, but when I look back I’m proud of a lot of things we accomplished this year – beating Michigan and Illinois at our place in front of a great crowd and winning the BIG EAST the way we did in dominating fashion. That really capped off that part of the season nicely. I’m really proud of our effort today. Putting it all into context is hard right now. I’m excited for this group next year and I’m excited to see what Ryan can do as head coach. The program has a strong nucleus and a bright future.”
The day got started with the Huskies claimed the early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point with victories at one and two. Emmett Egger and Jeff Hawke picked up an 8-4 win over Spencer Talmadge and Wyatt McCoy at two. The Irish quickly knotted the match up as Greg Andrews and Monaghan dropped Farkas and Max Manthou, 8-3, at three. However, just minutes later the Huskies closed out the doubles point with an 8-3 win as Bots and Kyle McMorrow topped Pecor and Lawson at one.
Singles began with Washington taking a 2-0 lead after Egger topped Pecor at four, 6-4, 6-1.
The Irish finally got on the board as McCoy took down Hawke at five in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Notre Dame tied the match up at two all as No. 80 Andrews earned the highest ranked win of his career with a 7-5, 6-4 straight-sets win over No. 17 McMorrow at one.
Washington jumped out to a 3-2 lead as Nicholas Kamisar defeated Lawson at six, 6-4, 6-4.
The Irish answered quickly though as senior Blas Moros won a wild three-setter over Max Manthou at three, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
With the score all tied up at three, Bots took down Monaghan in a thriller to advance Washington to the second round.
#37 University of Washington 4, #28 Notre Dame 3
Singles
1. #80 Greg Andrews (ND) def. #17 Kyle McMorrow (UW) 7-5, 6-4
2. Marton Bots (UW) def. Quentin Monaghan (ND) 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 6-3
3. Blas Moros (ND) def. Max Manthou (UW) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
4. Emmett Egger (UW) def. Billy Pecor (ND) 6-4, 6-1
5. Wyatt McCoy (ND) def. Jeff Hawke (UW) 6-3, 6-2
6. Nicholas Kamisar (UW) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 4,5,1,6,3,2
Doubles
1. Marton Bots/Kyle McMorrow (UW) def. Billy Pecor / Alex Lawson (ND) 8-3
2. Emmett Egger/Jeff Hawke (UW) def. Spencer Talmadge / Wyatt McCoy (ND) 8-4
3. Greg Andrews / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Viktor Farkas/Max Manthou (UW) 8-3
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Match Notes:
University of Washington 18-11; National ranking #37
Notre Dame 19-8; National ranking #28
–ND–