Feb. 27, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish men’s tennis team came back from a 3-0 deficit to knock-off 13th-ranked Texas A&M, 4-3, inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Friday night.
With the overall match tied at 3-3, sophomore Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) won the third set of his second singles match, 6-3, to clinch the win for the Irish. Notre Dame improves to 7-6 on the season, while the Aggies fall to 3-3.
The Aggies took an early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. Havens and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) defeated Austin Klores and Alexey Grigorov, 8-2, at No. 2 doubles, but Texas A&M battled back to take the final two doubles matches. Marcus Lunt and Wil Spencer downed Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Matt Johnson (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS), 8-6, at No. 3 doubles, while eighth-ranked Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock defeated No. 13 Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan HS), 8-5, at No. 1 doubles to clinch the point for the Aggies.
Texas A&M extended their lead to 2-0 as Lunt defeated Fitzgerald, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 5 singles. No. 35 Spencer downed 122nd-ranked Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman), 6-1, 6-2, at No. 3 singles to push the Aggie lead to 3-0.
Watt gave the Irish their first point with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Grigogorv at No. 4 singles. Helgeson then inched the Irish closer with a hard-fought, three-set win at first singles over 14th-ranked Pollock. Pollock took the first set, 6-3, but Helgeson answered to take the second, 6-1. In the third set, Helgeson earned the win, 6-4, cutting the Aggie lead to a 3-2 margin.
Sophomore David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) then tied the match at 3-3 when he earned a three-set win over Colin Hoover, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. It marked his second singles win of the season.
At second singles, Havens took the first set over 69th-ranked Krajicek, 6-2, but Krajicek rallied to force a third set when he beat Havens 7-6 (7-5) in the second set. With the overall match tied at 3-3, Havens held a 4-1 lead in the third set. He won the next game to make it 5-1, but Krajicek broke Havens and held to make it 5-3. While serving, Havens earned the win for the Irish with an ace, recorded after the game’s second deuce.
The Irish return to the courts at Wisconsin on Sunday, March 1, with the match scheduled to start at noon. The match will be played in Madison, Wis. at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
#25 Notre Dame 4, #13 Texas A&M 3Eck Tennis Pavilion - Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles competition1. #18 Brett Helgeson (UND) def. #14 Conor Pollock (A&M) 3-6, 6-1, 6-42. Stephen Havens (UND) def. #69 Austin Krajicek (A&M) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-33. #35 Wil Spencer (A&M) def. #122 Daniel Stahl (UND) 6-1, 6-24. Casey Watt (UND) def. Alexey Grigorov (A&M) 6-1, 4-6, 6-35. Marcus Lunt (A&M) def. Niall Fitzgerald (UND) 6-3, 6-16. David Anderson (UND) def. Colin Hoover (A&M) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
Doubles competition1. #8 Austin Krajicek/Conor Pollock (A&M) def. #13 Brett Helgeson/Tyler Davis (UND) 8-52. Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (UND) def. Austin Klores/Alexey Grigorov (A&M) 8-23. Marcus Lunt/Wil Spencer (A&M) def. Niall Fitzgerald/Matt Johnson (UND) 8-6
Match Notes: Texas A&M 3-3; National ranking #13Notre Dame 7-6; National ranking #25Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,4,1,6,2)
— ND —