April 3, 2016
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Despite what began as a close battle for the doubles point in Sunday’s doubleheader opener with Virginia Tech, the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team could not locate a rhythm during singles play as the Hokies left the Eck Tennis Pavilion with a 6-1 win over the Irish.
Virginia Tech won five of six singles matches as Notre Dame dropped its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference contest.
Incredibly tight matches marked doubles between the Irish and Hokies, with Virginia Tech taking the 1-0 lead after nearly an hour of play. The Hokies snared the first match with a late break on Court 2 as Amerigo Contini and Edoardo Tessaro beat Irish freshman Grayson Broadus and senior Quentin Monaghan 6-4. The Irish evened things as junior duo Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar – playing together for the first time since January 29 – defeated No. 7 Joao Monteiro and Andreas Bjerrehus 6-4 on Court 1.
Neither team on Court 3 could secure a break, with the match ending in a marathon tiebreaker. Virginia Tech’s Jai Corbett and Mitch Harper went ahead 5-1 in the decider, but seniors Alex Lawson and Nicolas Montoya roared back to tie it a 5-all. The teams traded points back-and-forth for the next several turns, but the Hokies eventually broke through to capture the win and the doubles point in a 7-6(11) decision.
The Hokies (13-6, 5-4 ACC) held onto the momentum once singles began, winning the first set in five of the six matches and cruising from there. Virginia Tech went on to win the first three singles matches to clinch the conference victory.
First, No. 72 Edoardo Tessaro put the Hokies up 2-0 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Lawson on Court 4. Then, No. 21 Monteiro upended No. 33 Monaghan 6-4, 6-4 on Court 1, followed quickly by Contini’s 6-3, 6-4 win over Hagar on Court 3.
Broadus gave the Irish a point with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Aaron Gomez on Court 6, but Virginia Tech added to its lead when Harper defeated senior Kenneth Sabacinski 7-6, 6-3 on Court 5. Bjerrehus closed it out with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Covalschi on Court 2 to result in the final margin.
The Irish (10-12, 4-6 ACC) will return to action at 7 p.m. ET tonight when they take on Chicago State in the nightcap.
Virginia Tech 6, Notre Dame 1
SINGLES
1. No. 21 Joao Monteiro (VT) def. No. 33 Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 74 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1
3. Amerigo Contini (VT) def. Josh Hagar (ND) 6-3, 6-4
4. No. 72 Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-3, 7-5
5. Mitch Harper (VT) def. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) 7-6(X), 6-3
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Aaron Gomez (VT) 7-5, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Eddy Covalschi / Josh Hagar (ND) def. No. 7 Joao Monteiro / Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) 6-4
2. Amerigo Contini / Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. Grayson Broadus / Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-4
3. Jai Corbett / Mitch Harper (VT) def. Alex Lawson / Nicolas Montoya (ND) 7-6(11)
For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
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Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.