March 3, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No.2 Ohio State won five of six singles matches to rally from an early 1-0 deficit as the Buckeyes knocked off No. 26 Notre Dame, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Trailing 1-0 after doubles, the Buckeyes won matches at one, two, three, five and six singles in straight sets to take the match. All five wins featured ranked players from Ohio State.
Sophomore Billy Pecor picked up the lone win for the Irish at No. 4 singles as he rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win, 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7), over No. 44 Devin McCarthy. It was the first top-50 singles win for Pecor in his two year career at Notre Dame.
The Irish claimed the early doubles point with wins at two and three. Action at No. 2 doubles saw each team hold serve through the first nine points. However, the turning point of the match came with Notre Dame leading 5-4. Seniors Casey Watt and Niall Fitzgerald broke the serve of the Buckeyes and then held serve, to give themselves a 7-4 lead. Devin McCarthy and Ille Van Engelen held to make it 7-5, but the Irish closed out the match to make the final score 8-5.
No. 3 doubles was a wild back and forth affair with huge swings of momentum. Sam Keeton and Pecor jumped out to a huge lead at 4-0, before Peter Kobelt and Connor Smith came roaring back to take a 5-4 lead. However, Notre Dame claimed the next three points to put themselves one point away from victory. OSU held serve to make it 7-6 before the Irish closed out the match behind the serving of Pecor.
The Ohio State No. 1 doubles team of Blaz Rola and Chase Buchanan rolled past Greg Andrews and
Spencer Talmadge, 8-3, after trailing early 1-0.
The Irish will return to the Eck on Sunday when they play host to No. 58 Maryland in an 11 a.m. match. Fans can follow the match via live results, with a link provided on UND.com.
RESULTS
SINGLES
No. 1 Singles
No. 6 Blaz Rola (OSU) d. Casey Watt (ND), 7-6 (0), 6-2
No. 2 Singles
No. 24 Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. No. 45 Greg Andrews (ND), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Singles
No. 58 Peter Kobelt (OSU) d. Sam Keeton (ND), 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 Singles
Billy Pecor (ND) d. No. 44 Devin McCarthy (OSU), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 5 Singles
No. 105 Ille Van Engelen (OSU) d. Niall Fitzgerald (ND), 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 Singles
No. 114 Connor Smith (OSU) d. Blas Moros (ND), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, 4
DOUBLES
No. 1 Doubles
No. 1 Blaz Rola / Chase Buchanan (OSU) d. Greg Andrews / Spencer Talmadge (ND), 8-3
No. 2 Doubles
Casey Watt / Niall Fitzgerald (ND) d. No. 28 Devin McCarthy / Ille Van Engelen (OSU), 8-5
No. 3 Doubles
Sam Keeton / Billy Pecor (ND) d. Peter Kobelt / Connor Smith (ND), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
–ND–