Irish Fall Just Short Against Cavaliers

Charlottesville, VA– The Irish encountered an extremely tough 4-3 road loss as they fell just short to the Virginia Cavaliers in their territory. This was Virginia’s second ACC win as it was Notre Dame’s first ACC loss so far this season.

DOUBLES

Notre Dame started off on the right foot as they claimed the doubles point.

Guillermo Cabrera and Paul Gota’s court 3 finished first as they dropped to Ryan Goetz and Gianni Ross, 6-1 to give the Cavaliers a small edge. Next to finish was No. 29 Tristan McCormick and Axel Nefve as they snagged the 6-2 victory over their UVA competitors Matthew Lord and Carl Söderlund. The doubles point all came down to court 2, Richard Ciamarra and Matthew Gamble’s match. After a very long back and forth showdown with RJ Fresen and William Woodall, the Irish came out on top after a tiebreaker, 7-6, propelling the Irish to the 1-0 lead over the Cavaliers.

SINGLES

Virginia’s No. 97 Carl Söderlund clinched the 1-1 tie as No. 10 Richard Ciamarra was unable to grasp the victory after dropping within two, 6-1, 6-0. Axel Nefve finished up just after court 1 as he advanced the Irish to a 2-1 lead as he downed his Cavalier competition, Matthew Lord in a quick 6-2, 6-2 victory. Connor Fu followed up Axel Nefve with another win as he defeated RJ Fresen, 6-2, 6-1 putting the Irish up 3-1 heading into the second half of singles play. Up next was court 5 as William Howells fell to William Woodall, 6-3, 6-1, placing the Cavaliers within one. Virginia’s Ryan Goetz tied it all up as he beat No. 98 Tristan McCormick on court 2 after a grueling second set tiebreaker. It came down to the wire as the teams were tied up 3-3 with Guillermo Cabrera left on court 4. The battle went to three sets, with Cabrera falling in the first just to bounce back in the second but ultimately drop the third set, 6-4.

UP NEXT

The Irish continue their third and final road stretch as they travel to Northwestern University for a March 8 matchup slated for 12 p.m. ET.

BOX SCORE

Virginia 4, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME 3
Singles competition
1. #97 Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #10 RICHARD CIAMARRA (ND) 6-1, 6-0
2. Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #98 TRISTAN MCCORMICK (ND) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
3. AXEL NEFVE (ND) def. Matthew Lord (VA) 6-2, 6-2
4. Gianni Ross (VA) def. GUILLERMO CABRERA (ND) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
5. William Woodall (VA) def. WILLIAM HOWELLS (ND) 6-3, 6-1
6. CONNOR FU (ND) def. RJ Fresen (VA) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #29 TRISTAN MCCORMICK/AXEL NEFVE (ND) def. Matthew Lord/Carl Soderlund (VA) 6-2
2. RICHARD CIAMARRA/MATT GAMBLE (ND) def. RJ Fresen/William Woodall (VA) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Ryan Goetz/Gianni Ross (VA) def. GUILLERMO CABRERA/PAUL GOTA (ND) 6-1
Match Notes:
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME 6-6, 2-1 ACC
Virginia 8-5, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #37
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,3,6,5,2,4)

–ND–