Irish Open 2021 Season with Two Victories

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The Notre Dame Men’s Tennis team opened the 2021 season with a home doubleheader sweep over Illinois State, 7-0 and 6-1, on Monday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.

The Irish earned a victory in their first doubles contest of the season behind wins from duos Tristan McCormick/Axel Nefve and Connor Fu/William Howells. After the Irish dropped the first pairing, senior McCormick and junior Nefve secured a 6-4 win. With the doubles point on the line, sophomore Connor Fu and senior William Howell won, 7-6, to give the Irish the 1-0 lead over the Redbirds.

In singles action, Nefve took home the first victory of the season with a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win over Illinois State’s Diego Le Gal Perez. Matthew Che was next to secure a victory, defeating Pol Botifoll Rius, 6-2, 6-0. Tristan McCormick earned a convincing, 6-1, 6-2 victory of his own, before Matthew Halpin would defeat Mike Agee, 6-2, 6-2 to put the Irish up, 5-0.

At the No. 3 singles spot, Connor Fu battled with Illinois State’s Nam Pham before eventually winning the tie-breaking victory, 6-3, 1-6, 1-0. Andrew Mariados clinched the sweep for the Irish, earning a 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 win of his own.

The second match of the day vs. the Redbirds would start off much the way the first did, with the Irish securing the doubles point to start. 

Che and freshman Jean-Marc Malkowski would earn a strong start, downing Illinois State’s Agee and Chiu, 6-2. Shortly after, Ciamarra and grad student Matt Gamble teamed up to defeat Le Gal Perez and Isaakson, 7-5, to win the point.

In singles play, Ciamarra wrapped up his match against Le Gal Perez in a convincing, 6-1, 6-2 victory. Fu followed right behind with a sweep over Boitfoll, 6-0, 6-0. In his first singles competition of the season, sophomore Braeden Ho defeated Zacharias Rankloo Rasmusson, 6-2, 6-2. Gamble then earned a win of his win, defeating Agee, 6-4, 6-4.

Che recorded his second singles victory of the night, downing Isaakson in a tight battle, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0. In a hard-fought battle to end the night, Malkowski dropped his singles match to Pham, 7-6, 7-6.

MATCH ONE

Singles Competition

1. NEFVE (MTEN) def. LE GAL PEREZ (ISU) 6-1 , 6-0
2. MCCORMICK (MTEN) def. ISAAKSON (ISU) 6-1 , 6-2
3. PHAM (ISU) vs. FU (MTEN) 3-6 , 6-1 , 0-1
4. CHE (MTEN) def. BOTIFOLL RIUS (ISU) 6-2 , 6-0
5. HALPIN (MTEN) def. AGEE (ISU) 6-2 , 6-2
6. CHIU (ISU) vs. MARIADOS (MTEN) 3-6 , 7-6 , 0-1

Doubles Competition

1. LE GAL PEREZ and ISAAKSON (ISU) vs. McCORMICK and NEFVE (MTEN) 4-6
2. AGEE and CHIU (ISU) vs. FU and HOWELLS (MTEN) 6-7
3. BOTIFOLL RUIS and LAZAREVIC (ISU) vs. HALPIN and MALKOWSKI (MTEN) 6-1

MATCH TWO

Singles Competition

1. CIAMARRA (MTEN) def. LE GAL PEREZ (ISU) 6-1 , 6-2
2. ISAAKSON (ISU) vs. CHE (MTEN) 3-6 , 6-4 , 0-1
3. FU (MTEN) def. BOTIFOLL RIUS (ISU) 6-0 , 6-0
4. PHAM (ISU) def. MALKOWSKI (MTEN) 7-6 , 7-6
5. GAMBLE (MTEN) def. AGEE (ISU) 6-4 , 6-4
6. HO (MTEN) def. RANKLOO RASMUSSON (ISU) 6-2 , 6-2

Doubles Competition

1. LE GAL PEREZ and ISAAKSON (ISU) vs. CIAMARRA and GAMBLE (MTEN) 5-7
2. AGEE and CHIU (ISU) vs. CHE and MALKOWSKI (MTEN) 2-6
3. LAZARAVIC and BOITFOLL (ISU) vs. HALPIN and HO (MTEN) 5-5

Next Up
The Irish continue their homestand with a doubleheader against Ball State, Wednesday, January 20, at noon and 5 p.m. ET.

While fans are unable to attend matches at the Eck Tennis Pavilion due to health and safety protocol, live stats are available at UND.com/mediastats and live streaming is available at UND.com/tennisstream.

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