April 25, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Back in the BIG EAST title game after missing out on a chance to play for the championship a season ago, the Fighting Irish men’s tennis team fell to 15th-ranked Louisville 4-0 on Sunday morning inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. With the win, Louisville picks up its second BIG EAST crown, while the Irish move to 7-5 all-time in BIG EAST title matches. Notre Dame is now 15-12 on the year while Louisville improves to 22-5.
Louisville jumped out to a 1-0 lead by virtue of winning a tightly contested doubles point. The Cardinals got on the board at No. 2 doubles where Austen Childs and Viktor Maksimcuk downed Notre Dame’s tandem of Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) 8-5. After falling behind early, Davis and Fitzgerald tied their match at 4-4 but could not pull ahead as Childs and Maksimcuk took four of the next five games for the win.
Louisville clinched the doubles point at the No. 3 position where Robert Hall and Chidi Gabriel defeated David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) 8-4. Once the Cardinal duo established a 4-3 lead, they pushed ahead and for the win.
At No. 1 doubles, eighty-eighth ranked Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) were tied with 22nd-ranked Simon Childs and Alejandro Calligari, 8-8. Havens and Watt had been leading their match at 7-5 before Louisville made a comeback only to see the match go unfinished with the doubles point clinched.
Louisville continued to put the pressure on in singles play. At No. 5 singles, the Cardinals extended their lead to 2-0 when Andrew Carter downed Anderson in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. Moments later Louisville moved within one point of claiming the BIG EAST title as 18th-ranked A. Childs downed 47th-ranked Watt 6-0, 6-2.
Facing a 0-3 deficit, the Irish showed some fight as Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School), Havens, Stahl and Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest School) extended their matches. Ultimately, Louisville claimed the 2010 BIG EAST title when Hall beat Moros at No. 6 singles 6-3, 6-3. After helping the Cardinals clinch the doubles point and the championship, Hall was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer.
Currently 38th in the Campbell/ITA rankings, the Irish have made a strong case to join the NCAA Championship field for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons by virtue of an at large bid. The NCAA Division I Tennis Championships Selection Show is scheduled to reveal the 2010 field between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4 on ESPNEWS. Check back with und.com for more details once the Irish learn their postseason fate.
#15 Louisville 4, #38 Notre Dame 0April 25, 2010 at Notre Dame, Ind. (Eck Tennis Pavilion)
Singles1. #18 Austen Childs (UL) def. #47 Casey Watt (ND) 6-0, 6-22. Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) vs. Stephen Havens (ND) 4-6, 6-2, DNF3. #89 Simon Childs (UL) vs. #110 Daniel Stahl (ND) 6-4, 6-6, DNF4. Alejandro Calligari (UL) vs. Samuel Keeton (ND) 6-3, 2-5, DNF5. Andrew Carter (UL) def. David Anderson (ND) 6-3, 6-06. Robert Hall (UL) def. Blas Moros (ND) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles1. #22 Simon Childs/Alejandro Calligari (UL) vs. #88 Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (ND) 8-82. Austen Childs/Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) def. Tyler Davis/Niall Fitzgerald (ND) 8-53. Robert Hall/Chidi Gabriel (UL) def. David Anderson/Daniel Stahl (ND) 8-4
Match NotesLouisville 22-5; National ranking #15Notre Dame 15-12; National ranking #38Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,DNF); Singles (5,1,6, DNF,DNF,DNF)
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