Feb. 4, 2017
Notre Dame 7, Monmouth 0 
| Notre Dame 7, William & Mary 0
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team extended its current winning streak to three matches with a pair of 7-0 nonconference sweeps of Monmouth and William & Mary on Saturday inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
How It Happened
Monmouth
The Irish doubles pairs made quick work of the Hawks, claiming the doubles point in a half an hour. Notre Dame’s No. 3 team of Guillermo Cabrera and Johnathan Small was the first to finish, easily winning by a score of 6-1. Grayson Broadus and Brendon Kempin clinched the point for the Irish moments later, defeating Monmouth at the No. 1 position by a final of 6-2. At the No. 2 spot Notre Dame’s Alex Lebedev and Daniel Rayl were leading 5-3 when the match was stopped.
Notre Dame carried its momentum from doubles into the singles matches, as the Irish claimed the first set on all six courts. Guillermo Cabrera was the first one off the court for Notre Dame, as the freshman won 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 3 position. Junior Brendon Kempin drew the Irish within one match of the victory after claiming a comfortable 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles. Freshman Johnathan Small clinched the match for Notre Dame from the No. 4 position, winning 6-0, 6-4 for his first collegiate dual singles win.
The Irish went on to sweep the morning match over Monmouth by a final of 7-0. Grayson Broadus was victorious at No. 1 singles 6-4, 6-4 and Matt Gamble posted a 6-3, 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot. After a close opening set Daniel Ray cruised in the second, finishing with a 7-5, 6-1 win at the No. 4 position.
William & Mary
The Irish took the doubles point thanks to a fast start at No. 3 by Josh Hagar and Johnathan Small. The Notre Dame pair defeated Christian Gargill and Damon Niquet 6-1 to open the match. Notre Dame clinched the point at first doubles, with a 6-4 win by Grayson Broadus and Brendon Kempin over Aidan Talcott and Ryan Newman. Matt Gamble and Alex Lebedev were leading at second doubles 5-3 over William & Mary’s Tristan Bautil and Addison Appleby.
Alex Lebedev cruised through his match at No. 2 singles, dropping Christian Cargill 6-0, 6-1 to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead. Johnathan Small followed with a win in straight sets at sixth singles, downing Damon Niquet 6-1, 6-1 for the 3-0 Irish advantage. Grayson Broadus secured the team victory for Notre Dame at the fourth singles court, sweeping Alec Miller 6-3, 6-3 for the 4-0 Irish edge.
Notre Dame closed out the sweep with wins at remaining courts, beginning with a 6-4, 6-4 victory for Guillermo Cabrera at the fifth court against Lars de Boer. Josh Hagar cruised to a 6-0 first set win against Aidan Talcott at first singles, and after a competitive second frame took the match 6-0, 7-6 (5). Matt Gamble finished off the day with a comeback win at the third court, bouncing back from a 7-6 defeat in set one to Addison Appleby with a 6-7 (7), 6-3, 1-0 (7) win.
Sachire Says
On carrying energy from the morning match into the afternoonââ’¬¦
“It was a good day in general. Any time you beat good, quality teams that are NCAA tournament caliber 7-0 and your guys leave the building feeling good about how they’re playing, it’s a great day. We did a lot of things really well. The energy is a staple of our program, and that’s what we emphasize every day and compete with in every match. Our guys did a really good job setting the tone in doubles and carrying through in singles, finishing off what was a great day.”
Keeping focus after sweeping Monmouth to follow up against William & Maryââ’¬¦
“The concern is that you play well in the morning, get the win, and then there’s a little bit of a lull but a sense of satisfaction. Based on the respect we have for William & Mary, we knew they would come out and play aggressive doubles. Our message to the guys was pretty simple, we had to be the more aggressive team. We had to make sure we initiated the energy we wanted to play with from ball one on, and the guys bought into that and did a great job. Emotionally, they took hold of the match early on.”
Building momentum into ACC opener next weekendââ’¬¦
“It’s about a couple days of recovery and rest now, and then we gear up for a big weekend with our first ACC match with BC and a great rival of ours Sunday in Illinois.”
Up Next
The Irish open Atlantic Coast Conference play at noon on Saturday, Feb. 11 by hosting Boston College at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Scoreboard
Notre Dame 7, Monmouth 0
February 4, 2017
Eck Tennis Pavilion
Singles
#1 Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Nicola Pipoli (MON) 6-4, 6-4
#2 Matt Gamble (ND) def. Przemyslaw Filipek (MON) 6-3, 6-4
#3 Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Ale Gomez Estrada (MON) 6-1, 6-2
#4 Johnathan Small (ND) def. Alberto Giuffrida (MON) 6-0, 6-4
#5 Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Christian Viera (MON) 7-5, 6-1
#6 Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Sam Bellersen (MON) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
#1 Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Przemyslaw Filipek / Ale Gomez Estrada (MON) 6-2
#2 Alex Lebedev / Daniel Rayl (ND) led Nicola Pipoli / Alberto Giuffrida (MON) 5-3, unfinished
#3 Guillermo Cabrera / Johnathan Small (ND) def. Sam Bellersen / Vikrant Dahiya (MON) 6-1
Notre Dame 7, William & Mary 0
February 4, 2017
Eck Tennis Pavilion
Singles
#1 Josh Hagar (ND) def. Aidan Talcott (WM) 6-0, 7-6 (5)
#2 Alex Lebedev (ND) def. Christian Gargill (WM) 6-1, 6-1
#3 Matt Gamble (ND) def. Addison Appleby (WM) 6-7 (7), 6-3, 1-0 (7)
#4 Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Alec Miller (WM) 6-3, 6-3
#5 Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Lars de Boer (WM) 6-4, 6-4
#6 Johnathan Small (ND) def. Damon Niquet (WM) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
#1 Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Aidan Talcott / Ryan Newman (WM) 6-4
#2 Matt Gamble / Alex Lebedev (ND) led Tristan Bautil / Addison Appleby (WM) 5-3, unfinished
#3 Josh Hagar / Johnathan Small (ND) def. Christian Gargill / Damon Niquet (WM) 6-1
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-ND-