In the third Irish sweep of the season, Notre Dame downed its ACC foe Louisville 4-0 in a very short matchup. With multiple outstanding performances from many Irish players, Notre Dame was able to defeat its competitors in a quick hour and 31 minutes at home.
“We are obviously happy with the performance today. I actually think our tennis level could have been better at certain spots in the lineup, but what I am extremely proud of is the energy that we competed with," stated Head Coach Ryan Sachire. "We’ve been on the road together as a group a lot this month, and I really like the bond that the group is forming together. They are playing hard for one another, they are supporting each other from the stands, and that raises the level of everyone in our program. Virginia has a talented team, and we are really pumped for that match on Sunday.”
DOUBLES
The Irish claimed the doubles in what felt like record time, only a mere 27 minutes. Court 1’s doubles match finished up first as No. 29 Tristan McCormick and Axel Nefve downed their cardinals competitors Tin Chen and Alex Wesbrooks, 6-2. Following suit, Richard Ciamarra and Matthew Gamble wrapped things up not long after on court 2. The Irish pair defeated Fabien Salle and Matthew Fung, 6-4, claiming the doubles point over the ACC foe. Guillermo Cabrera and Paul Gota were about half way done on court 3 as they stopped their match due to Notre Dame already securing 2 out of 3 doubles matches.
SINGLES
Connor Fu finished first in singles after only 55 minutes of play. Fu propelled the Irish to a 2-0 lead as he defeated Matthew Fung in two, 6-2, 6-1. Next up was No. 10 Richard Ciamarra on court 1. Ciamarra was coming off of a massive win over No. 4 Michigan’s No. 17 Andrew Fenty last weekend and hoped to keep the same momentum as he battled No. 76 Tin Chen. Ciamarra did just that as he downed Chen, 6-4, 6-4, putting the Irish only one singles match away from a sweeping victory over the Cardinals. Within a little over an hour, Axel Nefve clinched the Irish victory on court 2 after an ace to end it all. The final score of Nefve’s match against Sergio Hernandez was 6-2, 6-3. Tristan McCormick and Guillermo Cabrera both went 7-5 in their first sets but were stopped due to the Irish claiming the 4-0 win. Same goes for Matthew Che as he dropped the first set, came back in the second, but was unable to finish the third.
UP NEXT
The Irish hit the road for its final road stretch of the season when it first heads to Virginia this Sunday, March 1 at 12 p.m. ET in their house.
BOX SCORE
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME 4, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE 0
Singles competition
1. #10 RICHARD CIAMARRA (ND) def. #76 TIN CHEN (UL) 6-4, 6-4
2. AXEL NEFVE (ND) def. SERGIO HERNANDEZ (UL) 6-2, 6-3
3. #98 TRISTAN MCCORMICK (ND) vs. FABIEN SALLE (UL) 7-5, 2-1, unfinished
4. GUILLERMO CABRERA (ND) vs. DAVID MIZRAHI (UL) 7-5, 1-1, unfinished
5. CONNOR FU (ND) def. MATTHEW FUNG (UL) 6-2, 6-1
6. MATTHEW CHE (ND) vs. ALEX WESBROOKS (UL) 1-6, 6-1, 2-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #29 TRISTAN MCCORMICK/AXEL NEFVE (ND) def. TIN CHEN/ALEX WESBROOKS (UL) 6-2
2. RICHARD CIAMARRA/MATTHEW GAMBLE (ND) def. MATTHEW FUNG/FABIEN SALLE (UL) 6-4
3. GUILLERMO CABRERA/PAUL GOTA (ND) vs. SERGIO HERNANDEZ/DAVID MIZRAHI (UL) 4-3, unfinished
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,1,2)
–ND–