Jan. 15, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 34th-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team (1-0) did not lose a set in singles or doubles in opening the 2005 dual-match season with a 7-0 victory against Toledo (0-1) Saturday morning in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish will continue a busy opening day of the spring campaign by playing host to Illinois State (0-0) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. (EST).
The highlight of the first match of the spring was a number of firsts for Irish players. Three seniors – Jimmy Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School), co-captain Nick Chimerakis (North Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School), and Peter Graham (Luxembourg, Luxembourg/International School of Luxembourg) – notched their first career dual-match victories by triumphing in doubles action, while four sophomores – Stephen Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School), Barry King (Dublin, Ireland/Gonzaga College), Ryan Keckley (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph’s H.S.), and Irackli Akhvlediani (Vienna, Austria/Vienna International School) – won in singles at positions higher than they had ever previously played.
Singles was played first, and Notre Dame had little trouble, surrendering two games or fewer in seven of 12 sets. Stephen Bass, who earned his first career national ranking – at 77th – earlier this week, had the closest match, but he prevailed in his first time playing No. 1, defeating Khalid Al Nabhani of Oman 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). Bass, a co-MVP last season after playing Nos. 3 and 4, moved to 11-3 this season, with all of his defeats coming against nationally-ranked foes. He became the first Notre Dame sophomore to fill the top spot in the Irish singles lineup since three-time All-American Ryan Sachire played No. 1 for the Irish during all of the 1997-98 season, compiling an 18-6 record.
King also was playing for the first time as a nationally-ranked competitor after appearing 113th in the latest edition of Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national singles rankings. He responded with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Tony Tran at No. 2 after the Irishman had played at Nos. 4 and 5 last season, as well as once at No. 3. King, who now stands 8-3 on the season, provided the match-clinching victory for the Irish.
Keckley filled the bottom two positions in Notre Dame’s lineup as a rookie (while also playing once at No. 4), but he stepped into the No. 3 spot to beat Toledo senior Freddy Gomez of Venezuela 6-2, 6-4. He was one of two double winners for the Irish, as he also teamed with senior co-captain Brent D’Amico (Castle Rock, Colo./St. Stephen’s Episcopal School [TX]) for an 8-6 win over Al Nabhani and Tran at No. 1 doubles. The duo got their first win together in three matches this season.
Akhvlediani played in just one dual match last year, winning at No. 6 against Saint Joseph’s, but he filled the No. 4 spot against Toledo and easily handled Chris Clark 6-1, 6-1. The native of the former Soviet republic of Georgia now stands 14-5 for the 2004-05 campaign.
First off the court in singles was junior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.), who topped Josh Moran 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6. He is 9-4 on the season and has won five consecutive contests in dual-match play, dating back to last spring.
Off the court second was junior Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.), who defeated Travis Curran 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 for his team-leading 17th singles victory of the season (in 19 matches). He has won five straight and 14 of his last 15, dating back to September, with the lone loss coming against #23 Jakub Praibis of Indiana.
Graham and Langenkamp finished first in doubles, defeating Gomez and Cristobal Toral of Chile 8-4 at No. 2. It was the first victory in more than two years for the senior, who has been out with a shoulder injury. Coincidentally, the last win for the Luxembourg native came in a doubles match with Langenkamp on Sept. 27, 2002, in the Harvard Fall Invitational against a team from Brown University. Saturday marked Graham’s career debut in dual-match play, while Langenkamp notched his team-leading ninth doubles win of the campaign.
Jimmy Bass and Chimerakis paired up at No. 3 to defeat Moran and Brian Rager by an 8-6 score and clinch the shutout for the Irish. The victory was the first in doubles action (three previous matches) for the co-captain, who joined the squad as a walk-on in 2002-03, while Bass claimed a dual-match triumph for the first time in four tries.
Notre Dame beat the Rockets for the 11th consecutive time (dating back to a defeat in 1969) to extend its advantage in the all-time series to 21-2. It was the third time that the Irish opened their season with Toledo, after doing so in 1959 (9-0 win) and ’69 (8-1 loss). The Irish hold a 133-15 (.899) all-time record against current Mid-American Conference schools, including a 34-5 (.872) mark under current head coach Bob Bayliss.
The Irish won their season opener for the eighth time in the last 10 years and improved to 13-5 in openers under Bayliss.
#34 Notre Dame 7, Toledo 0
Singles (played first)
No. 1: #77 Stephen Bass (ND) def. Khalid Al Nabhani (T) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
No. 2: *#113 Barry King (ND) def. Tony Tran (T) 6-3, 6-1
No. 3: Ryan Keckley (ND) def. Freddy Gomez (T) 6-2, 6-4
No. 4: Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) def. Chris Clark (T) 6-1, 6-1
No. 5: Patrick Buchanan (ND) def. Travis Curran (T) 6-3, 6-1
No. 6: Eric Langenkamp (ND) def. Josh Moran (T) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 5, 2*, 3, 1
Doubles
No. 1: Brent D’Amico/Keckley (ND) def. Al Nabhani/Tran (T) 8-6
No. 2: Peter Graham/Langenkamp (ND) def. Gomez/Cristobal Toral (T) 8-4
No. 3: *Jimmy Bass/Nick Chimerakis (ND) def. Moran/Brian Rager (T) 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
* – indicates clinching victory