Oct. 30, 2004
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Notre Dame junior Patrick Buchanan (Fullerton, Calif./Servite H.S.) continued his outstanding play this fall by winning two matches Saturday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium to earn a spot in the C flight title match of the Crimson Tide Fall Championships. His play highlighted a day in which Irish players were victorious in seven of 10 contests.
Buchanan, the flight’s top seed, defeated his teammate, senior Jimmy Bass (Bronxville, N.Y./Iona Preparatory School), 6-0, 7-5 in the quarterfinals before topping Tommy Oston of Southern Mississippi 6-1, 6-3 to gain a spot in the final. The Irish junior, who lost just 13 games in six sets en route to the title match, will take on Wake Forest’s Joe Bates at 9 a.m. (EST) on Sunday
Buchanan now stands 15-2 on the season, and he has won 23 consecutive contests in which he has prevailed in the opening set. He holds a 38-10 career mark in that situation and has won 11 of 12 matches away from Notre Dame this fall.
Sophomore Irackli Akhvlediani (Vienna, Austria/Vienna International School) also won a pair of contests on Saturday. He beat Miami’s Vivek Subramanian 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in the consolation quarterfinals of the B flight before topping Andrew Felsethal of Alabama 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (6-8), 1-0 (10-6). The native of the former Soviet republic of Georgia will be in the consolation championship on Sunday, playing another Demon Deacon, Charles Sator at 9 a.m. Akhvlediani is 12-5 on the season.
Freshman Sheeva Parbhu (Omaha, Neb./Millard North H.S.), who upset the 31st-ranked player in the nation on Friday, saw his run in the A flight end in the semis. He first defeated Alabama’s Eric Molnar, who played No. 4 for the Crimson Tide last spring, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4). Then Virginia’s Marklo Miklo, a Slovakian who had a 22-2 dual-match record last spring mostly at Nos. 3-4, defeated Parbhu 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Notre Dame rookie finished the fall at 12-4, with half of his defeats coming against nationally-ranked foes. This was the third consecutive tournament – all of which contained various nationally-ranked competitors – in which Parbhu has turned in an eye-opening performance. He defeated two established players and a talented rookie en route to advancing to the semifinals of the Midland Invitational earlier this month. Parbhu then was one of only two freshmen to comprise the final 16 in last week’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Championships.
Notre Dame also gained a pair of doubles victories in the A flight on Saturday. Parbhu and junior Eric Langenkamp (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale H.S.) earned their first triumph as a team, defeating Rodney Rapson and Vedran Sirola of Jacksonville State 8-3. They will play Oston and David Canudas of Southern Mississippi on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the consolation semifinals of the A flight. Buchanan and freshman Andrew Roth (Houston, Texas/Tenney School) are in the other semi, as they topped Sebastian Falk and Andre Maier of UAB 8-4. That Irish duo will play Andrew Hamar and Todd Paul of Wake Forest. The semifinal victors will meet at 12:30 p.m. in the consolation championship.
The Crimson Tide Fall Championships consist of three flights in both singles and doubles that have attracted players from 18 schools across the nation. The event features the dedication of the University of Alabama’s new facility, the 12-court Alabama Tennis Stadium. The competition also is Notre Dame’s first trip to Tuscaloosa since former Irish assistant Billy Pate became the Tide’s head coach. Pate spent two seasons with the Irish (2000-02), helping Notre Dame to a pair of top-20 finishes and being named ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in the latter.
Crimson Tide Fall Championships
Singles
A Flight – Quarterfinals
Sheeva Parbhu (Notre Dame) def. Eric Molnar (Alabama) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4)
A Flight – Semifinals
Marko Miklo (Virginia) def. Sheeva Parbhu (ND) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
B Flight – Quarterfinals
[4] Marcos Digliodo (Colorado) def. Yuichi Uda (ND) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
B Flight – Consolation Quarterfinals
Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) def. Vivek Subramanian (Miami) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
B Flight – Consolation Semifinals
Akhvlediani (ND) def. Andrew Felsethal (Alabama) 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (6-8), 1-0 (10-6)
B Flight – Consolation Quarterfinals
Ryan Waits (Miami) def. [5-8] Eric Langenkamp (ND) 6-4, 6-3
C Flight – Quarterfinals
[1] Patrick Buchanan (ND) def. Jimmy Bass (ND) 6-0, 7-5
C Flight – Semifinals
[1] Buchanan (ND) def. Tommy Oston (Southern Mississippi) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
A Flight – Consolation
Langenkamp/ Parbhu (ND) def. Rodney Rapson/Vedran Sirola (Jacksonville State) 8-3
Patrick Buchanan/Andrew Roth (ND) def. Sebastian Falk/Andre Maier (UAB) 8-4
Note: Seedings are in brackets preceding national rankings, which precede names.