March 6, 2016
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — A quick start allowed the No. 41 University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team to cruise to a 5-2 victory over Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Louisville on Sunday at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
The Irish (8-6, 2-0 ACC) got off to a quick start, going up on all three doubles courts. They secured the point with wins on Courts 1 and 3. Freshman Grayson Broadus and senior Nicolas Montoya started the Irish off with a 6-2 win over Jeffrey Brown and Christian Haushammer on Court 3, while junior Eddy Covalschi and senior Alex Lawson followed with a 6-2 win over Alex Gornet and Sean Donohue on Court 1. Junior Josh Hagar and senior Eric Schnurrenberger led George Hedley and Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff 5-3 on Court 2, but the match was abandoned.
The Irish got two quick points once singles started. Freshman Daniel Rayl cruised by Carlos Longhi Neto 6-2, 6-2 on Court 5 to give the Irish their first singles point, while Covalschi made it 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Morin-Kougoucheff at the No. 1 slot.
Hagar battled back from a grueling first set with Hedley on Court 3, going on to win 7-6(4), 6-2 at No. 3 singles to clinch the match. Senior Kenneth Sabacinski showed similar toughness, gutting out a second-set tiebreaker to defeat Haushammer 6-3, 7-6(6) on Court 5 to make it 5-0.
The Cardinals (7-7, 0-2 ACC) only got on the board with the final two matches, with with Gornet defeating Lawson 6-7(2), 6-1, 10-6 and Brown upending Broadus 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
The Irish will continue ACC play, heading east to take on Clemson and No. 7 Wake Forest next Friday and Sunday, respectively.
No. 41 Notre Dame 5, Louisville 2
SINGLES
1. Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) 6-4, 6-4
2. Alex Gornet (UL) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-7(2), 6-1, 10-6
3. Josh Hagar (ND) def. George Hedley (UL) 7-6(4), 6-2
4. Jeffrey Brown (UL) def. Grayson Broadus (ND) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
5. Daniel Rayl (ND) def. Carlos Longhi Neto (UL) 6-2, 6-2
6. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) def. Christian Haushammer (UL) 6-3, 7-6(6)
DOUBLES
1. Eddy Covalschi / Alex Lawson (ND) def. Alex Gornet / Sean Donohue (UL) 6-2
2. Josh Hagar / Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) vs. George Hedley / Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) 5-3, unfinished
3. Grayson Broadus / Nicolas Montoya (ND) def. Jeffrey Brown, Christian Haushammer (UL) 6-2
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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.