Men Split Matches to Wrap Up Weekend Action

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s tennis team knew they would have a battle on their hands with Northwestern to start off their Sunday slate. They weren’t wrong as Northwestern would win the dual 4-2 in a contest that saw five singles matches go into 3rd sets.

The duo of Halpin and Conklin won 6-3 at the #2 slot but ultimately the Wildcats would win the doubles point with wins at #1 and #3 doubles. But the match was far from over as singles would take more than two hours to come to a conclusion. Northwestern would tally the next two points with wins at #2 and #4 singles to extend their lead to 3-0. The Irish would respond though as Nefve would come back from a set down to beat fellow lefty Steven Forman 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Conklin would follow that with a three-set win of his own as he wins going away against Felix Nordby, winning the final set 6-0. However, the comeback would not be fulfilled as Malkowski would fall at the #6 match. Vashistha’s match was beginning a final set tiebreak when the match was abandoned.

The men responded to the opening match loss with a dominant 4-0 win over Chicago State. The Irish made quick work of the Cougars at #3 doubles where Fu and Malkowski won 6-0 before Halpin and Conklin clinched the doubles point with a  6-2 win at #2 doubles. In singles, Brian Bilsey picked up his fourth singles win of the spring in his fourth appearance with a quick 6-1, 6-2 in the four hole. Che followed up with a win at #2 singles before Conklin sealed the deal with a 6-3, 6-3 win. Conklin won both singles and doubles matches today to add to his singles victory from yesterday to have a weekend record of 5-1 overall.

Up Next:

Notre Dame will prepare for one match against Western Michigan next Friday the 18th at 4pm. This match is rescheduled from a previous time in the season. Last year, the Irish and Broncos met twice last year with Notre Dame handing WMU their only two losses of the year, the final one in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Box Score – Match 1

Northwestern 4 – Notre Dame 2

Doubles

1. Forman/Nordby(NU) def. Che/Nefve(ND) 6-3
2. Conklin/Halpin(ND) def. B. Berdusco/Bratholm(NU) 6-3
3. Spear/Pickens(NU) def. Fu/Malkowski(ND) 7-5

Singles

1. #81 Nefve(ND) def. Forman(NU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. #79 Bratholm(NU) def. Che(ND) 6-3, 6-2
3. Vashistha(ND) vs. #55 Pickens(NU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-6 Did Not Finish
4. Thieneman(NU) def. Fu(ND) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. Conklin(ND) def. Nordby(NU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
6. B. Berdusco(NU) def. Malkowski(ND) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles(2, 1, 3); Singles (2, 4, 1, 5, 6)

Box Score – Match 2

Notre Dame 4, Chicago State 0

Doubles

1. Bilsey/Che(ND) vs. Pradillo/Alvarez(CSU) 4-4 Did Not Finish
2. Conklin/Halpin(ND) def. Perez Plaza/Zamorski(CSU) 6-2
3. Fu/Malkowski(ND) def. Hidalgo/Sandoval(CSU) 6-0

Singles

1. Vashistha(ND) vs. Alvarez(CSU) 6-3, 3-2 Did Not Finish
2. Che(ND) def. Pradillo(CSU) 6-1, 6-4
3. Conklin(ND) def. Perez Plaza(CSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Bilsey(ND) def. Sandoval(CSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Ho(ND) vs. Zamorski(CSU) 6-0, 4-6, 0-3 Did Not Finish
6. Corsillo(ND) vs. Hidalgo(CSU) 3-6, 6-2, 0-0 Did Not Finish

Order of finish: Doubles(3, 1); Singles (4, 2, 3)