Jan. 29, 2016
EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 35 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team lost its third straight match Friday, dropping a 6-1 decision against No. 21 Northwestern at the Combe Tennis Center.
Senior Eric Schnurrenberger gave the Irish (2-3) their lone win of the day, a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Fedor Baev at No. 4 singles.
The Wildcats (4-1) quickly picked up the doubles point, as they coasted to easy wins on Courts 2 and 3. Konrad Zieba and Sam Shropshire defeated juniors Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar 6-2 at No. 2, while Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz defeated freshman Grayson Broadus and Schnurrenberger 6-1.
Northwestern took a 2-0 lead when the 50th-ranked Shropshire defeated Covalschi 6-1, 6-4. A few minutes later, the Wildcats clinched the win with back-to-back decisions on Courts 6 and 3, respectively. Broadus fell to Ben Vandixhorn 6-4, 6-3, while No. 55 Strong Kirchheimer secured Northwestern’s win with a 6-3, 6-4 win over senior Alex Lawson.
No. 16 Zieba extended the Northwestern lead with a win over No. 37 Quentin Monaghan at No. 1. Monaghan had led by a break in the second set, but Zieba won four straight games to take the match.
The Irish went to third sets in the remaining matches on Courts 4 and 5. Hagar forced a third set against Horoz at No. 5 after Horoz took the first set handily, but Hagar could not hold on and fell 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 as Northwestern took a 6-0 lead. Schnurrenberger dropped the second set after going ahead of Baev in the first, but rallied in the third to give the Irish their lone point.
Notre Dame will head to Urbana, Illinois, for the second time this season when the Irish take on the No. 7 Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. ET next Friday at the Atkins Tennis Center. Notre Dame fell to Illinois 4-0 in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend last Friday.
No. 21 Northwestern 6, No. 35 Notre Dame 1
SINGLES
1. No. 16 Konrad Zieba (NU) def. No. 37 Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-2, 7-5
2. No. 50 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-1, 6-4
3. No. 55 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-3, 6-4
4. Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
5. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Josh Hagar (ND) 6-2, 5-7, 10-7
6. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) def. Grayson Broadus (ND) 6-4, 6-3
DOUBLES
1. No. 6 Alex Lawson / Quentin Monaghan (ND) vs. No. 52 Fedor Baev / Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 4-4
2. Konrad Zieba / Sam Shropshire (NU) def. Eddy Covalschi / Josh Hagar (ND) 6-2
3. Mihir Kumar / Alp Horoz (NU) def. Grayson Broadus / Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) 6-1
–
For the latest on all things Irish men’s tennis, follow @NDMensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Men’s Tennis on Facebook.
–ND–
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.