March 4, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After dropping the doubles point, the Irish men’s tennis team rebounded to win five of the six singles matches to overpower Michigan for a convincing 5-2 win on Wednesday evening. With the win, Notre Dame improves to 8-7 on the season while the Wolverines drop to 6-7.
The Irish fell behind early as Michigan swept the doubles point. At No. 3 doubles, the Wolverine duo of Mike Sroczynski and Drew Daniel downed Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and Matt Johnson (Portage, Mich./Portage Central HS), 8-2. Then at No. 2 doubles, Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian School) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) lost to Chris Madden and Andrew Mazlin, 8-5. To finish the sweep, Michigan’s George Navas and Jason Jung knocked off 21st-ranked Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan HS), 8-4.
David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) tied the overall match at 1-1 with a straight-set win at No. 5 singles over Sroczynski, 6-4, 6-2. The win evened Anderson’s dual season record at No. 5 singles to 2-2 on the year.
The Irish then took a 2-1 lead as Havens made quick work of Mazlin at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-3. With the win, Havens moves to 7-8 on the year in singles play, including a 7-7 mark at second singles.
Helgeson then gave the Irish a 3-1 lead with a three-set win at first singles over Jung. Helgeson dropped the first set, 2-6, but rebounded to record a wins in the second and third sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Michigan inched closer when it received a win from Daniel at No. 6 singles, as he downed Davis, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). But moments later Watt put the match away as his three-set win at No. 4 singles clinched the match for the Irish. Watt cruised to a 6-0 first set win over Peter Aarts, but dropped the second set, 6-7 (5-7) before posting a 6-1 win in the third set.
At second singles, Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) and Madden traded sets, with Stahl taking the first, 6-4 and Madden taking the second 7-6 (4-7). With the overall match decided, the duo raced to 10 in the third set and it was Stahl who earned the 10-7 win to record his sixth singles victory of the season.
The Irish will return to action in La Jolla, Calif. to take part in the 120th edition of the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championship. The Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships will begin on Thursday, March 5 and run through Sunday, March 8 at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla, California. All four of Notre Dame’s teams will begin play on Friday morning.
NOTES: The most recent ITA rankings were released on the evening of Tuesday, March 3 … as a team, the Irish remain ranked 25th for the fifth straight release date, dating back to February 3 … Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) moved to No. 21 in the singles rankings … Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman), previously ranked 122nd, dropped out of the singles rankings … Helgeson and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) stand at 21st in the doubles rankings … the Irish are now 5-3 in the Eck Tennis Pavilion this season, including a 5-1 mark in their last six home matches.
#25 Notre Dame 5, #28 Michigan 2Eck Tennis Pavilion - Notre Dame, Ind.
Singles competition1. #21 Brett Helgeson (UND) def. Jason Jung (UM) 2-6, 6-1, 6-22. Stephen Havens (UND) def. Andrew Mazlin (UM) 6-2, 6-33. Daniel Stahl (UND) def. Chris Madden (UM) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-74. Casey Watt (UND) def. Peter Aarts (UM) 6-0, 6-6 (4-7), 6-15. David Anderson (UND) def. Mike Sroczynski (UM) 6-4, 6-26. Drew Daniel (UM) def. Tyler Davis (UND) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
Doubles competition1. George Navas/Jason Jung (UM) def. #21 Brett Helgeson/Tyler Davis (UND) 8-42. Chris Madden/Andrew Mazlin (UM) def. Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (UND) 8-53. Mike Sroczynski/Drew Daniel (UM) def. Niall Fitzgerald/Matt Johnson (UND) 8-2
Match Notes: Michigan 6-7; National ranking #28Notre Dame 8-7; National ranking #25Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,2,1,6,4,3)
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