Feb. 4, 2003
MADISON, Wis. – The 34th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team secured its first victory of the season with a 7-0 win over Wisconsin (2-1) Tuesday afternoon in the Nielsen Tennis Center. The Irish took the doubles point and swept all six singles matches to improve to 1-4 this spring. Notre Dame, which topped the Badgers for the 12th consecutive time, will return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. at No. 44 Purdue.
“I was proud of the way we competed and proud of the way we came here and adjusted to the conditions and got a win,” said Irish head coach Bob Bayliss. “We have played well enough to have a better record than we do. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction and the beginning of some better play for us.”
For the second time this season, the Irish seized the initial point of the match. Juniors Ben Hatten (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill H.S.) and Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo (Guaynabo, P.R./Colegio Marista) improved to 3-1 as a team with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles. Junior tri-captain Matthew Scott (Oakton, Va./International School of Paris) and sophomore Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School) clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 triumph at No. 1 to move to 3-2 this spring. Wisconsin took the No. 2 doubles tilt.
The Irish took all six singles matches with a pair decided in three sets. Senior tri-captain Brian Farrell (Lilburn, Ga./St. Pius X H.S.) finished first with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4. After missing most of last spring and fall with a shoulder injury, he has won each of his last two matches — his first two wins in an 11-month span. Lopez-Acevedo then gained his first dual-match singles victory in an Irish uniform with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6. The Puerto Rican transferred from Bowling Green State University prior to this season for his final year of eligibility after the Falcon program was discontinued.
Freshman Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) clinched the Irish victory with his first dual-match triumph, a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 5. After the outcome was decided, Scott, ranked 119th nationally in singles, got his second straight win in a 6-3, 7-5 triumph at No. 2. D’Amico took three sets to improve to 5-0 this spring, but finished a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 3. In the final match, junior tri-captain Luis Haddock (Caguas, P.R./Notre Dame H.S.), ranked 72nd, won 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5 at No. 1.
#34 Notre Dame 7, Wisconsin 0
Singles
No. 1: #72 Luis Haddock (ND) d. Alexander Kasarov (W) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5
No. 2: #119 Matthew Scott (ND) d. David Hippee (W) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3: Brent D’Amico (ND) d. Blake Baratz (W) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 4: Brian Farrell (ND) d. Ward Bortz (W) 6-4, 6-2
No. 5: Patrick Buchanan (ND) d. Jordan Raemisch (W) 6-4, 6-3
No. 6: Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo (ND) d. Jeremiah Fuller (W) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1: D’Amico/Scott (ND) d. Scott Green/Raemisch (W) 8-5
No. 2: Hippee/Kasarov (W) d. Haddock/Farrell (ND) 8-5
No. 3: Ben Hatten/Lopez-Acevedo (ND) d. Alex Conti/Blake Baratz (W) 8-3