April 25, 2014
CARY, N.C. — It was a long first day of play for the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team at the ACC Championship. Although the Irish had an 11:30 a.m. start time, two rain delays meant that the quarterfinal match against Clemson wasn’t completed until after 7 p.m. Despite having to dig themselves out of a doubles point loss, the Irish ultimately defeated the Tigers, 4-2.
“We played pretty well in doubles but came up short in the end,” said head coach Ryan Sachire. “But we didn’t allow the negative momentum to carry over into singles, and our guys up and down the line-one through six-did a great job coming out and competing from the first ball on.”
In doubles, senior Greg Andrews and freshman Josh Hagar quickly got up 7-0 on Luke Johnson and Austin Ansari. Though Clemson fought back, Andrews and Hagar secured an 8-3 win at No. 2. Senior Matt Dooley and sophomore Eric Schnurrenberger fell in a tight match at No. 3 to Alejandro Bueno and Robert Dudley, 8-6. The point came down to court one, where sophomores Alex Lawson and Quentin Monaghan got to a match tiebreaker against Dominque Maden and Hunter Harrington (the ninth-ranked doubles team in the country), but ultimately fell short, 8-7(5).
The Irish came back swinging in singles, with four players winning their first sets before matches were postponed due to lightning. When Notre Dame eventually got back on the court-nearly 20 miles away in Duke University’s indoor facility-the men were sure to maintain intensity and finish the job.
Andrews was the fastest off the court at No. 1 singles, taking down Maden, 6-0, 6-2. Monghan fell to Harrington, 6-4, 6-2, which was the last point Clemson would get off the Irish.
Hagar tied things up for Notre Dame with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Bueno at No. 3. In his second set, Hagar pushed back after falling behind 0-2 to start things off.
“It’s always hard to battle back after losing a doubles point, especially against a team like Clemson,” Hagar said. “But I think every guy went out there with the mentality to get his match, his point for the team.”
With things tied at 2-2, the match was over in a second, as both Schnurrenberger and freshman Eddy Covalschi won their final points within minutes of each other. Schnurrenberger defeated Ansari, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5, and Covalschi clinched the match for Notre Dame against Johnson at No. 4, 6-2, 6-2.
“Obviously it was a little bit of a strange situation starting out outside, having a rain delay, going back outside, having another rain delay and then coming to finish indoors here,” Sachire added. “It was a long day, but our guys did a great job and we’re excited to move on to the semis tomorrow.”
Notre Dame will face the No. 1 seed, Virginia, tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the semifinals.
Singles competition
1. #23 Greg Andrews (ND) def. #76 Dominique Maden (CU) 6-0, 6-2
2. #51 Hunter Harrington (CU) def. Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-4, 6-2
3. Josh Hagar (ND) def. Alejandro Bueno (CU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Eddy Covalschi (ND) def. Luke Johnson (CU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Austin Ansari (CU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Wyatt McCoy (ND) vs. Brent Lett (CU) 5-7, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #9 Dominique Maden/Hunter Harrington (CU) def. Alex Lawson/Quentin Monaghan (ND) 8-7
2. Greg Andrews/Josh Hagar (ND) def. Luke Johnson/Austin Ansari (CU) 8-3
3. Alejandro Bueno/Robert Dudley (CU) def. Matt Dooley/Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) 8-6
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
–ND–