May 24, 2015
WACO, Texas — It was a remarkable run.
As the first University of Notre Dame men’s tennis student-athlete to reach the semifinal of the NCAA Singles Championship since the individual tournament was separated from the team championship in 1977, junior Quentin Monaghan cemented his place in the Irish record books during the 2014-15 season.
The ninth-ranked Monaghan’s impressive path through the tournament came to an end Sunday, however, as the Irish co-captain fell to No. 8 Ryan Shane of Virginia 6-4, 6-1 at the Hurd Tennis Center at Baylor University.
Monaghan opened the match with a break, but Shane broke back to make it 3-all a few games later. The pair held until Shane led 5-4, but the Cavalier notched his second break for set point to take the lead.
Shane rolled from there, taking a 5-0 lead in the second set before Monaghan got his first hold. But Shane didn’t rattle and held in the next game to advance to the title match.
Monaghan ended the season with a 33-7 overall record, including a 20-3 mark in dual matches and a 10-2 dual tally against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. He became the second first team All-ACC selection since Notre Dame joined the conference, joining former teammate Greg Andrews as an honoree.
Monaghan has already met two of the three singles All-America criteria — though only one is needed to receive the honor — by earning a top 16 seed into the singles championship and advancing as far as the Round of 16. In so doing, he became the first Irish All-American (singles or doubles) since Stephen Bass finished the season with a No. 10 singles ranking in 2007. Monaghan will likely meet the third of the three All-America criteria (top 20 ranking) when the final ITA Division I rankings are released on May 26. The last Irish All-American to meet all three singles criteria was current head coach Ryan Sachire, who did so in 1998 (No. 20 ranking, No. 9-16 seed, Round of 16).
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NCAA Men’s DI Singles Championship
May 20-25, 2015
First Round
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. No. 33 Farris Gosea (ILL), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Second Round
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. No. 25 Roberto Quiroz (USC), 6-4, 6-4
Round of 16
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. No. 32 Jakob Sude (OKST), 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinals
No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. No. 39 Cameron Norrie (TCU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Semifinals
No. 8 Ryan Shane (UVA) def. No. 9 Quentin Monaghan (ND), 6-4, 6-1
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
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