MEN'S TENNIS: Irish look to catch Gophers in Minnesota
By RACHEL BIBER
Sports Writer
With the season off to a perfect 2-0 start, the seventh-ranked Irish men's tennis team looks to keep its winning streak alive as it heads into two weekend battles against 68th-ranked William and Mary and 32nd-ranked Minnesota.
Notre Dame squares off against William and Mary on Friday, as the Irish and the Tribe will meet for just the fourth time in history and the first time since 1999. William and Mary also won two matches to open the spring season, sweeping both the University of Richmond and East Carolina University by the score of 7-0.
While the Irish are not taking their opponent lightly, they expect to win handily, knowing their lineup boasts more talent and depth.
"William and Mary is an NCAA [Championship] level team, but I would expect to win that match," Notre Dame head coach Bob Bayliss said. "They gave us a reasonably good match in the fall when we played them here. I think we're much deeper than they are at four, five and six [singles]."
The Irish will undoubtedly face a tougher battle on Sunday against the Gophers of Minnesota — a team that includes the second-ranked singles player in the nation, Harsh Mankad. Mankad, a junior from India, finished the fall season with a 12-1 record, while also winning the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November.
Bayliss is certainly aware of the threat Minnesota poses.
"Minnesota is very good," Bayliss said. "They are very under-ranked. They're a top 10 to 15 team."
The Irish will try to counter the Gopher threat, being led by a solid core of seniors and a lineup that also has some ammunition of its own. Three Irish singles players are ranked in the top 100 — Luis Haddock-Morales at No. 83, Casey Smith at No. 88 and Javier Taborga at No. 95 — and the doubles pairing of Taborga and Smith is ranked sixth.
While the contest against nationally touted Minnesota will deny or confirm Notre Dame's top 10 ranking, preparing for the match-up was the same as usual.
"I don't think you do any different to prepare," Bayliss said. "You get your routines down. Each of them has individual weaknesses that we're working on. This isn't like football or basketball where you have to rebound better or you have to block better. It's more like one player has to work on his backhand passing shot, another player needs to work on coming to the net a little more. There really isn't a key ingredient for the whole team."
Notre Dame and Minnesota know each other well, as the two teams have met in 12 of the past 13 seasons. The Irish blasted the Gophers 7-0 last season, but Minnesota has taken four of the past six meetings. However, Notre Dame has recorded a perfect 4-0 record against the Gophers at Minnesota in the Bayliss era — a record they hope to see remain intact.
All Sports Stories for Friday, January 25, 2002
