Feb. 18, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 29th-ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team won the doubles point and then won six singles matches in straight sets — including three second-set tiebreakers — to beat Wisconsin 7-0 on Friday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Sophomore Javier Taborga teamed with sophomore Aaron Talarico to win the clinching doubles match and then won at No. 3 singles claim the decisive fourth point of the match. The Irish improve to 5-2 with their ninth consecutive win over the Badgers, who fall to 2-2 with the loss. Wisconsin will play 32nd-ranked Miami (Fla.) on Saturday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion, while the Irish and Hurricanes meet at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead after doubles when the 53rd-ranked team of Taborga and Talarico rallied for a 9-8 (7-1) win over 42nd-ranked David Chang and Scott Rutherford at No. 1 doubles. The Irish trailed by two breaks of serve at 3-6 but rallied to win four consecutive games for a 7-6 lead. The teams then held to force a tiebreaker, where Taborga and Talarico raced to a 5-0 lead. Seniors Trent Miller and Ryan Sachire won Notre Dame’s first doubles match with an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles. The Badgers won 9-8 (12-10) at No. 3 doubles just before the conconclusion of No. 1 doubles.
Sophomores Casey Smith and Andrew Laflin gave the Irish a 3-0 lead with two singles wins. Smith defeated Chang 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, while Laflin won a close first set 7-6 (7-5) and then rolled to a 6-0 second set against Stefan Reist at No. 5 singles. Taborga then won the clinching match when he held on for a 6-4, 7-5 win over Adam Schumacher at No. 3 singles after leading 4-0 in the second set.
Notre Dame then claimed three second-set tiebreakers that were played simultaneously to complete the 7-0 win. Freshman Brian Farrell was first off the court among the final three with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win over Dustin Friedman after trailing 2-4 in the second set at No. 6 singles. The 17th-ranked All-American Sachire put away Danny Westerman 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 1 singles for a 6-0 lead. Talarico rallied from 2-5 in the second set to beat Rutherford 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) at No. 4 singles.
#29 NOTRE DAME 7, WISCONSIN 0
Singles
No. 1: #17 Ryan Sachire (ND) def. Danny Westerman (UW) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 2: Casey Smith (ND) def. David Chang (UW) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Javier Taborga (ND) def. Adam Schumacher (UW) 6-4, 7-5
No. 4: Aaron Talarico (ND) def. Scott Rutherford (UW) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
No. 5: Andrew Laflin (ND) def. Stefan Reist (UW) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0
No. 6: Brian Farrell (ND) def. Dustin Friedman (UW) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles
No. 1: #53 Taborga/Talarico (ND) def. #42 Chang/Rutherford (UW) 9-8 (7-1)
No. 2: Trent Miller/Sachire (ND) def. Justin Baker/Schumacher (UW) 8-1
No. 3: Jason Gonzaga/Westerman (UW) def. Matt Daly/Ashok Raju (ND) 9-8 (12-10)