March 20, 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Fighting Irish men’s tennis team’s run at the 2010 Blue Gray Tennic Classic came to an end at the hands of the 16th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center. After claiming the doubles point, Texas Tech earned wins at first, second and third singles to advance to the championship match of the annual tournament. With the win, Texas Tech improves to 15-1 on the year, while Notre Dame moves to 9-8.
The Red Raiders took a 1-0 lead by virtue of winning the first two doubles matches. At second doubles, Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) fell to the 23rd-ranked team of Gonzalo Escobar and Andre Stabile, 8-5. Then, at third doubles, the Red Raider team of Vitor Manzini and David Gonzalez downed David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman), 8-4. With the doubles point decided, Notre Dame’s 61st-ranekd team of Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa/Pine-Richland) did not complete its match versus 18th-ranked Raony Carvalho and Rafael Garcia.
The Red Raiders then claimed wins at first, second and third singles in succession to advance to the finals of the Blue Gray Classic, in which they will play 17th-ranked Oklahoma on Sunday. At first singles, Carvalho, ranked 15th, downed 27th-ranked Watt 6-1, 6-0. Then, at second singles, 63rd-ranked Escobar took out Havens 6-0, 6-3. Garcia clinched the win at third singles with a victory over 86th-ranked Stahl 6-2, 6-4.
With the overall match clinched, Anderson, Samuel Keeton (Kansas City, Mo./The Pembroke Hill School) and Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine Crest School) did not finish their matches. Anderson was trailing Stabile at fourth singles 7-5, 2-1. Keeton won his first set over Manzini, 7-6, but trailed in the second 0-1. Moros, lining up against Raphael Pfister at sixth singles, dropped the first set 2-6, but was tied 2-2 in the second set when the match came to a close.
Notre Dame, in the midst of a nine-match road swing, returns to the courts next weekend at Northwestern. Check back with UND.com for a preview of that match, which is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (CT) in Evanston, Ill.
Notes
Notre Dame’s win over Middle Tennessee State University (4-2) in the opening round of the 2010 Blue Gray tournament marked the 700th career win for head coach Bobby Bayliss (now 701-306-1/41 seasons) … 2010 marks the 61st year of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic and the Irish have taken part in the classic in every year since the 1991 season … All-time, Notre Dame holds a 42-25 record at the event … the Irish are three-time Blue Gray champions, having won the tournament in 1993, 2001 and 2007 (also earned runner-up status in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2006) … Notre Dame has faced a ranked opponent in 12 of its 17 matches (the Campbell/ITA rankings slot the top-75 teams) … Sam Keeton is 10-0 in 2010 dual season singles play … nine of Notre Dame’s 17 matches have been decided by just one point … Notre Dame is 6-1 on the season when claiming the doubles point.
March 20, 2010 at Montgomery, Ala.#16 Texas Tech 4, #38 Notre Dame 0
Singles1. #15 Raony Carvalho (TTU) def. #27 Casey Watt (ND) 6-1, 6-02. #63 Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) def. Stephen Havens (ND) 6-0, 6-33. Rafael Gacrcia (TTU) def. #86 Daniel Stahl (ND) 6-2, 6-44. David Anderson (ND) vs. Andre Stabile (TTU) 5-7, 2-1, unfinished5. Samuel Keeton (ND) vs. Vitor Manzini (TTU) 7-6, 1-0, unfinished6. Blas Moros (ND) vs. Raphael Pfister (TTU) 2-6, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles1. #61 Casey Watt/Stephen Havens (ND) vs. #18 Raony Carvalho/Rafael Gacrcia (TTU) 6-4, unfinished2. #23 Gonzalo Escobar/Andre Stabile (TTU) def. Tyler Davis/Niall Fitzgerald (ND) 8-53. Vitor Manzini/David Gonzalez (TTU) def. David Anderson/Daniel Stahl (ND) 8-4
Match NotesTexas Tech 14-1; National ranking #16Notre Dame 9-7; National ranking #38Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,2,3)2010 Blue Gray Tennis Classic (semifinals)
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