Oct. 26, 2015
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
By Joanne Norell
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — University of Notre Dame men’s tennis senior Alex Lawson is no stranger to the biggest stages in collegiate doubles play.
So during Monday’s ITA Midwest Regional Doubles Championship, Lawson — who has experience at both the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships and NCAA Doubles Championships — was hardly fazed when Charlie Emhardt and Jeffrey Schorsch from Valparaiso began to mount a second-set comeback against him and partner Quentin Monaghan.
With a chemistry that is beginning to take shape and a confidence that can only come by having been there before, Lawson and Monaghan put together an energetic and emphatic victory to claim the regional crown, besting the duo from Valpo, 6-1, 7-5, and advancing to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
“That was only our second tournament (as partners) and we’re playing really well and I think our chemistry’s starting to come together,” Lawson said. “I just felt like we were so in-tune today and vibed off each other really well.”
The Irish pair came out on fire, beating Emhardt and Schorsch on the volley and dropping balls on the back line to take a 3-0 lead. The Crusaders got a game back in the next series, but the Irish rolled on to easily capture the first set.
Emhardt and Schorsch adjusted to the pressure in the second set, giving the Irish fits at the net and erasing an early break. Lawson and Monaghan had taken a 4-2 lead, but the Crusaders broke back and rallied to go ahead 5-4. It wouldn’t hold, though, as the Irish once again picked up steam and roared through the final three games, with an unmistakable ace on match point to claim the title for the Irish.
“We came out with a lot of energy in the first and that was huge for us,” Monaghan said. “I think in the second set they were just a little more calm and played better, so it ended up being a good doubles match.
“I didn’t get to go (to nationals) last year so I’m really excited for that, but Alex did and he’s got plenty of experience on the doubles court, so it will be good to play with him.”
It was the second straight Midwest Regional title captured by a Notre Dame doubles pair. Then-sophomores Josh Hagar and Eddy Covalschi won the title in 2014. Lawson and partner Billy Pecor advanced to the national tournament with an at-large bid after falling to Hagar and Covalschi in the semifinal.
The win capped an impressive weekend for the Irish, who hosted the event for the first time since 2010. A total of 11 Irish players competed in the tournament — playing in both singles and doubles — with three advancing as far as the quarterfinals in both draws. Covalschi advanced to the singles quarterfinals, while Monaghan advanced to the semifinals.
The doubles title match was the second match of the day for Monaghan, who competed in the morning’s singles semifinal round. Despite fighting from behind to force a third set, the top-seeded Irish senior fell to eventual event champion Herkko Pollanen of Ohio State, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
“We’re always happy to host this event and it’s obviously one of the marquee events of the fall for our team, and it’s great to play on our home courts,” head coach and tournament director Ryan Sachire said. “I thought it was a pretty positive week for us and some guys obviously made some jumps and it’s always good to win a championship, too.
“You enter tournaments to win them and win matches along the way. We certainly did a good job of that — Quentin and Eddy and Alex in particular, advancing to Sunday was a good representation of our program. By and large, the teams that have players playing on the last day of regionals are really good teams, so hopefully it means we can have some good success in the spring.”
The Irish return to action with the start of the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, November 12-15, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, and at the Bulldog Scramble, November 13-15 at the University of Georgia.
For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
ITA Midwest Regional Championships
October 22-26, 2015
Eck Tennis Pavilion | Lakeland Athletics Club
Monday
Singles Main Draw – Semifinals
[6] No. 93 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. [1] No. 5 Quentin Monaghan (ND), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw – Championship
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. [4] No. 55 Charlie Emhardt / Jeffrey Schorsch (Valpo), 6-1, 7-5
Sunday
Singles Main Draw – Quarterfinals
[1] No. 5 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. [5] No. 63 Ralf Steinbach (OSU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
[6] No. 93 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. [20] Eddy Covalschi (ND), 7-6(3), 6-1
Doubles Main Draw – Quarterfinals
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. [21] Gabe Tishman / Kevin Wong (UM), 8-5
Doubles Main Draw – Semifinals
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. [11] Matt Mendez / Hunter Tubert (OSU), 6-4, 6-2
Saturday
Singles Main Draw – Round of 32
[1] No. 5 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Toshiki Matsuya (UI), 6-3, 6-2
[20] Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. [14] Josef Dodridge (UW), 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)
[8] Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Grayson Broadus (ND), 6-1, 6-2
[15] Martin Joyce (OSU) def. [23] Alex Lawson (ND), 6-3, 7-6(5)
Singles Main Draw – Round of 16
[1] Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. [12] Leopold Gomez Islinger, 6-3, 6-2
[20] Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Julian Childers (UI), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 32
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Garrett Gardner / Lucas Waak (Valpo), 8-4
[22] Nicolas Montoya / Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Christoffer Greve / Dylan Steffers (ISU), 8-6
[5] Fedor Baev / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND), 8-5
[17] Julian Childers / Toshiki Matsuya (UI) def. [15] Eddy Covalschi / Kenneth Sabacinski (ND), 8-6
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 16
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Alexander Kokorev / Darius Mackenzie (UW), 8-3
[7] Runhao Hua / Alex Knight (UM) def. [22] Nicolas Montoya / Eric Schnurrenberger (ND), 8-3
Friday
Qualifying Singles Final Round
[16] Chad Kissell (Valpo) def. [8] Daniel Rayl (ND), 6-1, 6-2
Matej Svjetlicic (WMU) def. [14] Brendon Kempin (ND), 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-3
Singles Main Draw – Round of 64
[1] No. 5 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Jason Seidman (NU), 6-4, 6-4
[20] Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Charlie Ernhardt (Valpo), 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-6(6)
[23] Alex Lawson (ND) def. Mihir Kumar (NU), 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-2
Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Lamar Remy (UW), 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2
[5[ No. 63 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND), 6-2, 6-1
[6[ No. 93 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Nicolas Montoya (ND), 6-1, 6-0
Kevin Wong (UM) def. [10] Eric Schnurrenberger (ND), 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 64
[2] No. 28 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND), bye
[15] Eddy Covalschi / Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Tim Corwin / Ivan Divkovic (DePaul), 8-4
[22] Nicolas Montoya / Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Kevin Goth / Ben Slade (Clev. St.), 8-6
Grayson Broadus / Brendon Kempin (ND) def. William Malm / Mirko Radosevic (Clev. St.), 8-6
[23] Matt Hamilton / Maik Steiner (WMU) def. Nathan Griffin / Daniel Rayl (ND), 8-6
Thursday
Qualifying Singles First Round
[8] Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Mackenzie Stearns (MU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
[14] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Lucas Waak (Valpo), 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3
Daniel Loebel (WMU) def. [11] Drew Dawson (ND), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Gleb Sklyr (MU) def. [13] Nathan Griffin (ND), 6-3, 6-3
Qualifying Singles Second Round
[8] Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Matej Kostandinov (UWGB), 6-2, 6-4
[14] Brendon Kempin (ND) def. Alex Kim (MSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Consolation Matches
Nathan Griffin (ND) def. Darius MacKenzie (UW), 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
Colin Harvey (MSU) def. Drew Dawson (ND), 6-7(10), 6-4, 10-5
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.