May 12, 2001

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The 13th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team won the doubles point and swept the second half of the singles lineup in straight sets to beat host and 47th-ranked Harvard 4-0 in the NCAA first round on Saturday. The Irish advance to the second round at noon on Sunday and will take on 18th-ranked Washington, a 4-0 winner over Hofstra in the first match of the day. Sophomore Brian Farrell’s victory at No. 5 singles clinched the win for the Irish, who improve to 17-6 with the decision.

The 19th-ranked Irish doubles team of juniors Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico beat Anthony Barker and George Turner 8-1 at No. 1 doubles, before Harvard’s William Lee and Mark Riddell won 8-4 at No. 4 doubles. Senior Matt Daly and freshman Luis Haddock-Morales then clinched the point with their 8-5 win over Chris Chiou and Dalibor Snyder at No. 3 doubles to give Notre Dame a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

Daly put Notre Dame ahead 2-0 with his eighth win in nine dual matches this season, as he beat Riddell 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. Talarico gave the Irish a 3-0 advantage when he improved to 15-1 at No. 4 singles by defeating Barker 6-3, 6-3. Farrell recorded his fifth clinching victory of the season when he downed Turner 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 singles. The first three singles matches were abandoned once Notre Dame had clinched the win.

The match marked the second in three years between the teams in the NCAA first round. The 20th-ranked Crimson beat the 30th-ranked Irish 4-2 in 1999 at Indiana State. Notre Dame and Washington will meet for the second time ever and the second time in two years. The Huskies beat the Irish 5-2 in Notre Dame’s first match of the 2000 season. The Irish will be looking for the first trip to the final 16 and the NCAA championship national site since 1994 when Notre Dame served as host of the event. Washington will be in search of its first final 16 showing after falling one match short in 1998 and 1999.

#13 NOTRE DAME 4, #47 HARVARD 0

Singles

No. 1: #79 Casey Smith (ND) vs. William Lee (H) 4-6, 6-4, 3-2, abandoned

No. 2: Javier Taborga (ND) vs. Cliff Nguyen (H) 6-4, 2-6, abandoned

No. 3: Luis Haddock-Morales (ND) vs. Oli Choo (H) 2-6, 4-2, abandoned

No. 4: Aaron Talarico (ND) def. Anthony Barker (H) 6-3, 6-3

No. 5: Brian Farrell (ND) def. George Turner (H) 6-2, 6-2

No. 6: Matt Daly (ND) def. Mark Riddell (H) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1: #19 Taborga/Talarico (ND) def. Barker/Turner (H) 8-1

No. 2: Lee/Riddell (H) def. James Malhame/Smith (ND) 8-4

No. 3: Daly/Haddock-Morales (ND) def. Chris Chiou/Dalibor Snyder (H) 8-5