Mens Tennis: Seminoles chop Irish on final point of match
By JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
A precious win was in sight for the Irish Friday night at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
After losing the doubles point in the match against Florida State, Notre Dame had rallied to win three singles matches, tying the score at three points apiece. Seminole Matt Cloer and Irish tri-captain Luis Haddock were the last competitors on the court. An Irish victory in that final match would give Notre Dame its first triumph in a winless spring season. A Seminole win would knock the Irish, still ranked 34th nationally, down once again, for the fourth time in as many matches.
In the end, Cloer prevailed as he upset No. 72 Haddock, 7-5, 6-4. And the Irish moved to 0-4, the worst start in school history, as the Seminoles won, 4-3.
"We're not going to get down from this," junior tri-captain Matt Scott said. "We're just going to build on this and take this to Wisconsin [Tuesday]."
Scott suggested that the loss was made even more painful because the Irish nearly were able to pull off their first win of the season.
"I think we felt a little more confident," Scott said. "Then again, is it better to come really close and lose, or to get beat pretty badly? It almost hurts more when you come that close."
Scott and freshman Brent D'Amico won their doubles match 8-3, after senior captain Brian Farrell and sophomore Paul McNaughton were defeated 8-5 at the No. 3 flight. Haddock and Ben Hatten tried to grab the doubles point for Notre Dame, but they lost 8-5 to the 38th ranked doubles duo in the country. The Irish refused to concede the match with the Seminoles' securing of the doubles point, and Scott, ranked 119th nationally, defeated Romain Jurd, 6-3, 6-1. It was Scott's first win in dual-match play this season after contending against players ranked seventh and second nationally.
Inexperience most likely played a role in the Irish loss, with freshmen Patrick Buchanan and Eric Langenkamp both suffering defeats in straight sets.
"With every match the guys are getting more and more experience," Scott said. "I think that will really come in handy towards the latter part of the year when it really matters, come tournament time."
D'Amico and Farrell, with their wins at the No. 3 and 4 flights, respectively, kept the Irish in the match. D'Amico upset Florida State's Alex Herrera, who was ranked 114th. "We played better than we played against Indiana and Ohio State," Scott said. "Florida State is a great team and they came through when they had to."
With a road date with Wisconsin Tuesday, the Irish are hoping to gain some lessons from their four losses this spring.
"We're just looking to learn from each match, to build on it," Scott said. "We'll get our chances. Now that we've been through some battles, we'll be stronger because of it."
Veterans on the team no doubt remember last season's successes and run to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Right now, they seem pretty far away from that. Fortunately for Notre Dame, the tournament itself is also far off — the Irish have at least 13 more matches before the Big East Championshis.
"We've played some good teams," Scott said. "We can't afford to get down this early." Scott said the most important requirement for the Irish is, "to learn from [this], stay positive, keep our heads up, and support each other. Once we do that, ... things will start clicking."
Contact Joe Lindsley at jlindsle@nd.edu
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 3, 2003
