SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Back at home in the Eck Tennis Pavilion, the #26 Notre Dame men’s tennis team fought hard but ultimately fell to #7 ranked Wake Forest for the second time this season.
The first meeting between the teams was in Winston-Salem at ITA Kick-Off weekend and went to the Demon Deacons by a score of 4-1 with three 3-setters in singles. Friday afternoon, history would repeat itself as Notre Dame would pickup a singles win and find themselves in three 3-setters but would lose by the same 4-1 score.
In doubles, and with veteran starters Axel Nefve and Peter Conklin out with injuries, some new combinations took the court. Junior duo Connor Fu and Matt Che lined up at #2 doubles but would fall 6-2. Addy Vashistha and Jamie Corsillo would team together in a reunion pairing of their fall tournament at the Bonita Bay Classic. They lost at #3 doubles 6-3 to their Demon Deacon opponents leaving Matt Halpin and Jean-Marc Malkowski unfinished at the top spot.
In singles, the teams would split the first two matches off the court. Jameson Corsillo would find himself playing at #6 singles for the first time against an ACC opponent but could not overcome his opponent. Shortly after thought, Connor Fu would put up the first and only Irish victory of the day with a routing 6-3, 6-3 win over Cungu. Addy Vashistha would take on Nava at the top position in a rematch of their encounter earlier in January. In two very tight sets including a second set tiebreak, Vashistha would drop the match 6-3, 7-6(3).
The remaining three matches would all go to third sets as both Braeden Ho and Matt Che would respond after dropping the first sets to win the second. Ho, playing his first ACC opponent since last spring, would have a match point late in the contest but did not get to the finish line before Baadi would pull away in a third set tiebreak to clinch a 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(3) win and a team win for the Demon Deacons.
The last two matches would remain unfinished with Jean-Marc Malkowski even at 5-5 in the third on his court and Matt Che down but mounting a comeback.
Up Next:
Notre Dame continues their 3-match home series as they will play #23 North Carolina State on Sunday at 12pm. They will also take on Louisville in a mid-week match against the #27 ranked Cardinals at 4pm on Wednesday.
Box Score
#7 Wake Forest 4 – #26 Notre Dame 1
Doubles
- Halpin/Malkowski(ND) vs. Nava/Draper(WF) 5-3 Did Not Finish
- Karimov/Banthia(WF) def. Che/Fu(ND) 6-2
- Thomson/Schnaitter(WF) def. Vashistha/Corsillo(ND) 6-3
Singles
- #34 Nava(WF) def. Vashistha(ND) 6-3, 7-6(3)
- Che(ND) vs. Efstathiou(WF) 3-6, 7-6, 0-3 Did Not Finish
- Fu(ND) def. Cungu(WF) 6-3, 6-3
- Malkowski(ND) vs. Banthia(WF) 7-5, 4-6, 5-5 Did Not Finish
- Baadi(WF) def. Ho(ND) 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(3)
- Schnaitter(WF) def. Corsillo(ND) 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles(2, 3); Singles (6, 3, 1, 5)