April 17, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. – The Irish men’s tennis team cruised past Georgetown, 4-0, at the USF Varsity Courts to advance to the BIG EAST Championship semifinals. With the win, the 28th-ranked Irish improve to 13-10 on the season and will face USF in one of the two semifinal matches which are scheduled take place tomorrow, April 17 at 9:00 a.m. on the USF Varsity Courts.
The Irish got off to a fast start in doubles play versus the Hoyas, as the three Notre Dame teams combined to drop just three sets. Santiago Montoya (Austin, Texas) and Daniel Stahl (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) were teamed together at third doubles. They recorded Notre Dame’s first doubles win over Georgetown’s Adam Gross and Kevin Walsh 8-1. A few minutes later, 31st-ranked Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) clinched the point as they defeated Andrew Bruhn and Mieszko Tomczyk, also by an 8-1 margin. At No. 2 doubles, Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) and Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Hill Christian) were leading over Michael Clarke and David Tillem, 6-1, when the Irish clinched the doubles point for a 1-0 lead.
David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) gave the Irish a 2-0 lead as he won his match at fifth singles versus Georgetown’s Kevin Walsh 6-1, 6-1. With the win, Anderson improved to 7-3 on the season at fifth singles. Helgeson, currently ranked 29th, gave the Irish a commanding 3-0 lead as he disposed of Clarke 6-2, 6-1 at first singles. The Irish are now 11-1 when Helgeson wins at first singles. Havens, playing at second singles for the 21st time this season, closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Bruhn.
When Havens clinched the match, the Irish were leading the other three singles matches. Watt was leading at third singles over Tillem 6-4, 5-2, Stahl was defeating Gross 6-3, 4-2 at fourth singles and Davis was leading Gross 6-1, 5-2 at sixth singles.
With the win, Notre Dame improved to 6-1 all-time versus over the Hoyas, including a 4-0 mark in BIG EAST Championship play. Looking forward to tomorrow’s match, the Irish hold and all-time series lead over USF, 4-0. Most recently, the Irish downed the Bulls 6-1 on March 28 at home in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. But the Bulls enter tomorrow’s match with an 8-1 home record. Seeded third and ranked 41st, the bulls defeated sixth-seeded St. John’s by a 4-1 score to advance to the semifinals. A recap and a box score of the semifinal match will be posted on und.com, while fully updated brackets will be available at www.bigeast.org.
Georgetown vs. Notre DameApr 17, 2009 at Tampa, Fla.
#28 Notre Dame 4, Georgetown 0
Singles competition1. Brett Helgeson (UND) def. Michael Clarke (GU) 6-2, 6-12. Stephen Havens (UND) def. Andrew Bruhn (GU) 6-4, 6-33. Casey Watt (UND) vs. David Tillem (GU) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished4. Daniel Stahl (UND) vs. Adam Gross (GU) 6-3, 4-2, unfinished5. David Anderson (UND) def. Kevin Walsh (GU) 6-1, 6-16. Tyler Davis (UND) vs. Kenneth Wong (GU) 6-1, 5-2, unfinished
Doubles competition1. Brett Helgeson/Tyler Davis (UND) def. Andrew Bruhn/Mieszko Tomczyk (GU) 8-12. Stephen Havens/Casey Watt (UND) vs. Michael Clarke/David Tillem (GU) 6-1, unfinished3. Santiago Montoya/Daniel Stahl (UND) def. Adam Gross/Kevin Walsh (GU) 8-1
Match Notes:Georgetown 4-20Notre Dame 13-10; National ranking #28Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,1,2)
–ND–