April 20, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The #28 ranked and No. 1 seeded University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team advanced to the championship match of the 2013 BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Championship with a 4-1 victory over No. 4 seed Marquette Saturday morning inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Irish will meet No. 2 Louisville for the title Sunday. The time and location (Eck Tennis Pavilion or Courtney Tennis Center) haven’t been decided yet.
With the win, the Irish (18-7) advanced to their 16th BIG EAST title match in 18 years, and are looking for their eighth title, with the last coming in 2008. Notre Dame last advanced to the finals in 2011, where it lost to Louisville, 4-2.
Notre Dame has now won eight matches in a row, which marks the longest winning streak since the 2006-07 squad won nine in a row. That Irish team advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga.
After winning by a narrow margin in the doubles competition, Notre Dame held a 1-0 lead over Marquette heading into the singles portion of the match.
Notre Dame’s No. 85 Greg Andrews captured the first singles win for the Irish with a decisive 6-3, 6-1 victory over Dan Mamalat. Ryan Bandy picked up another Irish win and extended the team lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over James Stark at six.
Marquette cut into the Notre Dame lead after Cameron Tehrani scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over Billy Pecor. However, less than a minute later, Quentin Monaghan sealed the dual match victory for the Irish with a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of Marquette’s Vkasin Teofanovic at two.
The win improves Notre Dame’s record to 49-0 all-time over the Golden Eagles, including 9-0 under Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bayliss.
Notre Dame claimed a 1-0 lead after winning matches at two and three doubles.
Notre Dame’s No. 3 pairing of Andrews and Monaghan secured the first doubles victory by winning 8-3 over Skylr and Stark. Just seconds later, Marquette’s No. 1 pairing of Mamalat and Teofanovic claimed an 8-5 victory over Pecor and Alex Lawson to tie the doubles competition at 1-1.
After trading blows back-and-forth, the No. 2 doubles pairings found themselves in a 7-7 tie. Avoiding a potential tie break situation, Spencer Talmadge and Bandy took the next two games en route to a 9-7 victory over Collins and Tehrani to clinch the doubles point for the Irish.
#28 Notre Dame 4, Marquette 1
Singles
1. #85 Greg Andrews (ND) def. Dan Mamalat (USF) 6-3, 6-1
2. Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Vukasin Teofanovic (MU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Blas Moros (ND) vs. Logon Collins (MU) 5-7, 1-1, DNF
4. Cameron Tehrani (MU) def. Billy Pecor (ND) 6-4, 6-3
5. Wyatt McCoy (ND) vs. Gleb Skylr (MU) 6-3, 6-4, DNF
6. Ryan Bandy (ND) def. James Stark (MU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
1. Dan Mamalat / Vukasin Teofanovic (MU) def. Alex Lawson / Billy Pecor (ND) 8-5
2. Spencer Talmadge / Ryan Bandy (ND) def. Logon Collins / Cameron Tehrani 9-7
3. Greg Andrews / Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Gleb Skylr / James Stark (MU) 8-3
Match Notes
Notre Dame 18-7; National ranking #28
Marquette 14-12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1, 6, 4, 2)
T-2:50
–ND–