Feb. 20, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 23 Notre Dame men’s tennis team rebounded Sunday to beat No. 24 North Carolina, 5-2 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in Notre Dame, Ind. Senior Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) downed North Carolina’s No. 101 Brennan Boyajian in a three-set match (4-6, 6-2, 6-1) at third singles.
Team captain No. 28 Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) and senior Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) were downed by No. 20 Brennan Boyajian and Jose Hernandez at first doubles, 8-4.
Junior Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and freshman Greg Andrews (Richland, Mich./Gull Lake) handled William Parker and Cameron Ahari, 8-3 at third doubles. No. 51 junior Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland/Blackrock College) and sophomore Spencer Talmadge (Hillsborough, Calif./Junipero Serra) clinched the doubles point, defeating No. 44 Stefan Hardy and Zach Hunter at second doubles. The duo came out to an early lead of 2-1 and continued to improve the score, moving to 5-1 and eventually winning the match 8-3.
Andrews handled Ahari in a two-set match (6-2, 6-4) at the No. 4 position. In the first set, the freshman gained an early 4-1 lead and continued to improve to his 6-2 score, followed by a 6-4 second set to win the match and the first singles point of the match for the Irish. No. 77 Watt was downed (6-2, 6-4) by No. 30 Hernandez at first singles, moving the score to 2-1 in favor of Notre Dame.
At the No. 6 position, Blas Moros (Boca Raton, Fla./Pine-Crest) downed Kyle Baker to clinch the match for Notre Dame. The sophomore battled back in the second (6-2) and third sets (6-0), after being defeated 2-6 in the first set. Havens defeated No. 107 Hardy. The pair split the first two sets, before Havens defeated Hardy 1-0 (11-9) in the final set at second singles.
Fitzgerald battled Parker, winning the first set, 7-6 (7-5), before dropping the second and final sets, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8).
The Irish return to action Fri., February 25 to compete in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. The three-day tournament is set to be played in Montgomery, Ala.
No. 24 North Carolina (3-4) v. No. 23 Notre Dame (7-4)
Doubles:
No. 1 No. 20 Brennan Boyajian/Jose Hernandez (UNC) def. No. 28 Tyler Davis/Stephen Havens (ND), 8-4
No. 2 No. 51 Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND) def. No. 44 Stefan Hardy/Zach Hunter (UNC), 8-3
No. 3 Casey Watt/Greg Andrews (ND) def. William Parker/Cameron Ahari (UNC), 8-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
No. 1 No. 30 Jose Hernandez (UNC) def. No. 77 Casey Watt (ND), 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 Stephen Havens (ND) def. No. 107 Stefan Hardy (UNC), 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9)
No. 3 v. Daniel Stahl (ND) def. No. 101 Brennan Boyajian (UNC), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Greg Andrews (ND) def. Cameron Ahari (UNC), 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 William Parker (UNC) def. Niall Fitzgerald (ND), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
No. 6 Blas Moros (ND) def. Kyle Baker (UNC), 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 2, 5