MEN'S TENNIS: Irish start off spring ranked seventh
By RACHEL BIBER
Sports Writer
With the 2002 tennis season underway, the Irish find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
Notre Dame is slotted seventh in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings —its highest preseason rank ever — as they head into tomorrow's play against No. 75 UC-Irvine and No. 64 Furman.
Cracking into the upper echelon of the collegiate tennis rankings may place the Irish in uncharted terrain, but they will not be slowing down to ask their competitors for directions, and are sure their solid lineup will reel in the wins.
"With our enviable combination of tremendous depth, talent and experience, we fully expect to be a fixture in the top 10 this year," Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss said. "Our sights are set on an impressive showing in the NCAAs hosted by Texas A&M in May."
While Bayliss' lofty expectations have yet to be tested, the success of the Irish should be assured by a squad that lost no starters from 2001, and one that also includes four starting seniors. Last year's team finished out the season with a 17-7 dual match record and a No. 16 ranking.
The faces that brought Notre Dame to its nationally recognized stature last year will no doubt be the same. Leading the Irish in singles will be the combination of seniors Casey Smith and Javier Taborga, along with sophomore Luis Haddock-Morales, followed by the grouping of seniors Aaron Talarico and Andrew Laflin, sophomore Matt Scott and junior Brian Farrell.
The depth represented in the singles lineup was a major element in the success of 2001, but the team's disappointing performance in doubles last year highlights an area of much needed improvement.
"The reason for our success last year was that we were really tough down below, and we won enough big matches between one, two and three," Bayliss said. "I think the key for this year is that our doubles has to be much more successful than it was last year. We've changed the combinations, and Javy and Casey have done exceptionally well [this fall]."
Others may describe the doubles duo of Taborga and Smith as doing better than "exceptionally well" this fall season, as the two paired up at the No. 1 position, racking up 15 wins to a mere 4 losses, en route to earning a No. 6 national ranking as they head into the spring season.
The No. 6 ranking marks the highest by an Irish pairing since the fall rankings in 1997 when Brian Patterson and Jakub Pietrowski were ranked fifth.
While the No. 1 doubles position is locked up in the hands of Smith and Taborga, the No. 2 and No. 3 slots are up for grabs. Vying for one of the spots at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles will be Talarico, Farrell, seniors Ashok Raju and James Malhame, sophomore Ben Hatten and freshmen Paul McNaughton and Brent D'Amico.
Although the Notre Dame lineup is still being tweaked, UC-Irvine and Furman are not expected to give the Irish a serious run for their money.
"The weekend will be an interesting opener," Bayliss said. "[UC-Irvine and Furman] are both NCAA level teams, teams that could make the tournament. They're teams we expect to beat, but it wouldn't be too big of a stretch for one of them to beat us."
Beating UC-Irvine and Furman will rely heavily on the depth of Notre Dame, which has definitely be identified as a major strength for the Irish, but Bayliss also recognizes the need for a strong leadership to surface in the highest part of the lineup in order to fulfill hopes of success in 2002.
"Depth is a strength," Bayliss said. "And then the emergence of one or two of the people at the top to really take charge would separate us from a lot of teams."
All Sports Stories for Friday, January 18, 2002
