NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The Notre Dame Men’s Tennis team split a doubleheader with Ball State, 6-1 and 3-4, in the second contest of the season on Wednesday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
In the first doubles slate of the afternoon, the No. 19 duo in the country, Tristan McCormick and Axel Nefve earned a 6-4 victory over Ball State’s Chris Adams and Vince Orlando. Matthew Che and Jean-Marc Malkowski teamed up for a 6-4 win of their own to clinch the doubles point for the Irish.
In singles play, five Irish notched victories, including wins from Nefve, McCormick, Halpin, Malkowski, and Ho. After falling behind, 5-7, Halpin launched his comeback bid, earning a 6-0 victory before taking the tiebreaker and the match.
The Irish were led in doubles by graduate student Brandon Ancona and senior William Howells, who earned a 6-4 victory. Duos Richard Ciamarra/Matt Gamble and Connor Fu/Braeden Ho would put up a fight, but ultimately fall to the Cardinals, who won the doubles point.
In singles action, Ciamarra, the sixth-ranked singles player in the country, set the pace early with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ball State’s Kovacevic. Andrew Mariados was shortly behind, earning a quick 6-2, 6-0 victory over Bonin. Malkowski and Halpin fell in back-to-back contests before Fu came out victorious with a 6-3, 7-5 win.
In the decisive singles match, Matt Gamble lost the first set, 3-6, before rebounding and earning a strong 6-2 victory. Ball State’s Smith would ultimately prove too much for the Irish, as Gamble fell 4-6 in a full third set and the Cardinals would clinch the match victory.
Notre Dame Men’s Tennis 6, Ball State 1
Singles competition
- Axel Nefve (NDMTEN) def. Thibault de Negri (BSU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Tristan McCormick (NDMTEN) def. Danilo Kovacevic (BSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Chris Adams (BSU) def. Matthew Che (NDMTEN) 7-6, 6-3
4. Matthew Halpin (NDMTEN) def. Vince Orlando (BSU) 5-7, 6-0, 1-0
5. Jean-Marc Malkowski (NDMTEN) def. Parrish Simmons (BSU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Braeden Ho (NDMTEN) def. Sajin Smith (BSU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
- #19 Tristan McCormick/Axel Nefve (NDMTEN) def. Chris Adams/Vince Orlando (BSU) 6-4
2. Matthew Che/Jean-Marc Malkowski (NDMTEN) def. Thibault de Negri/Parrish Simmons (BSU) 6-4
3. Danilo Kovacevic/Sajin Smith (BSU) def. Matthew Halpin/Braeden Ho (NDMTEN) 6-4
Ball State 4, Notre Dame Men’s Tennis 3
Singles competition
- #6 Richard Ciamarra (NDMTEN) def. Danilo Kovacevic (BSU) 6-3, 6-2
- Connor Fu (NDMTEN) def. Vince Orlando (BSU) 6-3, 7-5
- Sajin Smith (BSU) def. Matt Gamble (NDMTEN) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
- Parrish Simmons (BSU) def. Matthew Halpin (NDMTEN) 6-2, 6-3
- Eli Herran (BSU) def. Jean-Marc Malkowski (NDMTEN) 6-4, 6-1
- Andrew Mariados (NDMTEN) def. Bryce Bonin (BSU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
- Chris Adams/Vince Orlando (BSU) def. Richard Ciamarra/Matt Gamble (NDMTEN) 6-4
- William Howells/Brandon Ancona (NDMTEN) def. Thibault de Negri/Parrish Simmons (BSU) 6-4
- Eli Herran/Bryce Bonin (BSU) def. Connor Fu/Braeden Ho (NDMTEN) 6-1
Next Up
The Irish conclude their season-opening homestand on Saturday, January 23, when they host Cleveland State at 2:30 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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