No. 36 ND places fifth in Blue-Gray Classic
By RACHEL BIBER
Sports Writer
Heading south was no vacation for the Irish men's tennis team as they made their annual trek to the prestigious 16-team Blue-Gray National Classic in Montgomery, Ala. March 16-19.
Thirty-sixth-ranked Notre Dame finished the four-day event tied for fifth and improved its dual match record to 9-5 by posting a 2-1 record in the competition.
The squad suffered a loss to 5th-ranked Illinois, but netted impressive wins over 26th-ranked Virginia and 38th-ranked University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Notre Dame put up a heroic fight to capture the doubles point against the Virginia Cavaliers, sneaking away with close wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Seniors Ryan Sachire and Trent Miller teamed up to defeat 46th-ranked Tommy Croker and John Winter 9-8 (7-4) at No. 2 doubles, while sophomores James Malhame and Casey Smith squeaked by the Cavaliers' Robert Abendroth and Brian Hunter 9-7 at No. 3 doubles.
All-American and 10th-ranked Sachire of Notre Dame was handed his first loss in seven matches against Virginia's fifth-ranked Brian Vahaly in the No. 1 singles match 6-3, 6-3, allowing the Cavaliers to even the score at 1-1.
Taborga put the Irish in the lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Croker at No. 4 singles, and Andrew Laflin extended the advantage to 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles. The Cavaliers closed the gap when Smith dropped a tight three-set match at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7).
Brian Farrell, playing in his first match since February 27, showed no signs of rust, providing the clinching win for the Irish with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles.
"Virginia was a good win" Irish head coach Bob Bayliss said. "Our depth really paid off for us ... Farrell's consistency the whole weekend was great."
Notre Dame improved to 8-4 after Farrell locked up the win, and set up a second round battle against the Fighting Illini.
For the second time in two weeks Illinois came out on top over the Irish with a 5-2 victory on the second day of tournament play.
The Illini's 13th-ranked Cary Franklin avenged an earlier loss to Sachire in the No. 1 singles match with a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) win.
Taborga provided the lone singles win for the Irish with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Illinois' Jamal Parker at No. 4 singles.
"I'm proud of the effort," Illinois head coach Craig Tiley said. "And it's a good accomplishment for our team to defeat Notre Dame twice in a season."
Four of the five Illini singles-match wins were decided by third set tiebreakers.
"We're disappointed we didn't beat Illinois," Bayliss said. "But it just wasn't meant to be. It was probably the best match of the tournament."
The Irish were able to recover from the Illinois loss by beating the UAB Blazers 5-2 in the final match of the weekend's competition. Notre Dame swept the doubles for two points and won three singles matches to beat the Blazers, improving to 9-5 with the win.
"The doubles was a highlight for us," Bayliss said. "To do as well as we have lately is a plus."
Under the new experimental dual-match format, the Irish took a 2-0 lead by winning all three doubles matches. Taborga and Talarico came away with the No. 1 match with an 8-4 victory, while Miller and Sachire and the duo of Malhame and Smith both posted 8-4 wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles respectively.
Notre Dame's lead was widened to 4-0 with wins by Smith and Farrell over their UAB opponents.
Laflin then overcame a shaky start and rallied for a 1-6, 7-6, 1-0 (11-9) in the No. 3 singles match to clinch the victory.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 21, 2000
