Jan. 29, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a two-match losing streak against top-30 foes, the No. 28 Notre Dame men’s tennis team got back on the right track Sunday as it snuck past No. 44 Cornell, 4-2, in the consolation match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend hosted by Ohio State at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The Irish (4-2) were forced to rally in singles after dropping their third consecutive doubles point. The No. 1 doubles team of Niall Fitzgerald and Spencer Talmadge got back on the winning track as they blew past the team of Venkat Iyer and Danny Riggs, 8-1. However, the other two doubles teams couldn’t follow suit as each lost close back-and-forth matches. At No. 2, Greg Andrews and Casey Watt lost, 9-7, to Sam Fleck and Jason Luu, while Sam Keeton and Billy Pecor fell to Quoc-Daniel Nguyen and Alex Sidney, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles.
Trailing 1-0 entering singles, the Irish picked up wins at No. 2, 3, 5 and 6 to claim the four points needed for victory.
At No. 2, Andrews (6-0) remained perfect on the year with another straight-set win, this time over Fleck, 6-2, 7-5. No. 74 Keeton got back on track with a thrilling three-set win over Nguyen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 3 singles. Blas Moros moved to 2-0 at No. 5 singles, defeating Sidney in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, while Michael Moore improved to 2-0 at No. 6 singles with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jason Luu.
The lone loss for the Irish came at No. 1 singles, as Watt lost a tight two-setter to No. 98 Iyer, 7-6, 7-6.
Pecor’s match at No. 4 singles against Riggs went unfinished as the pair split the first two sets with Pecor taking the first, 6-4, and Riggs taking the second, 7-6. The third set was tied at two apiece when the team result was decided.
Notre Dame travels to North Carolina next weekend where they meet No. 41 Wake Forest on Friday in Winston-Salem, before facing off with No. 10 Duke in Durham on Super Bowl Sunday.
COMPLETE RESULTS
SINGLES
No. 1 Singles
No. 98 Venkat Iyer (C) d. Casey Watt (ND), 7-6, 7-6
No. 2 Singles
Greg Andrews (ND) d. Sam Fleck (C), 6-2, 7-5
No. 3 Singles
No. 74 Sam Keeton (ND) d. Quoc-Daniel Nguygen (C), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Singles
Billy Pecor (ND) vs. Danny Riggs (C), 4-6, 7-6, 2-2, unfinished
No. 5 Singles
Blas Moros (ND) d. Alex Sidney (C), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
No. 6 Singles
Michael Moore (ND) d. Jason Luu (C), 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 1, 5, 3
DOUBLES
No. 1 Doubles
Niall Fitzgerald / Spencer Talmadge (ND) d. Venkat Iyer / Danny Riggs (C), 8-1
No. 2 Doubles
Sam Fleck / Jason Luu (C) d. Casey Watt / Greg Andrews (ND), 9-7
No. 3 Doubles
Quoc-Daniel Nguyen / Alex Sidney (C) d. Sam Keeton / Billy Pecor, 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
–ND–