Irish drop to 9-7 with losses to Tar Heels, Blue Devils
By RACHEL BIBER
Sports Writer
Defeat is usually tough to swallow, but the 23rd-ranked Irish men's tennis team wrapped up a weekend of competition with an especially bitter taste in their mouths after losing to both 28th-ranked North Carolina and 5th-ranked Duke, to fall to 9-7 on the season.
Notre Dame kicked off its competition on a high note Saturday against the Tar Heels by winning the doubles point to notch a 1-0 lead. The advantage disappeared, though, and North Carolina rallied for the 4-3 win with straight set singles wins at Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6.
"The North Carolina match was a tough match to lose," Irish coach Bob Bayliss said. "We played pretty hard, and it could have gone either way, but it was an opportunity we let slip through our fingers."
North Carolina's defeat of the Irish marks its first win over a Top 25 team since April 6, 1997 when they beat 25th-ranked Virginia 6-1, and was a highlight of their a recent seven-match winning streak.
The 37th-ranked doubles team of Irish sophomores Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico beat the Tar Heels' Ben Elix and Tripp Phillips 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, improving to 15-6 on the year. Seniors Ryan Sachire and Trent Miller followed suit with an 8-2 victory over North Carolina's Tyne Brownlow and David Cheatwood at No. 2 doubles to give the Irish the lead heading into singles.
But North Carolina came back, winning four of the six remaining singles matches.
Tenth-ranked Sachire and Matt Daly both pulled through to provide the lone singles victories for the Irish after dropping the first set in their matches. All-American Sachire beat 47th-ranked Phillips 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, while Daly defeated Cheatwood 2-6, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
The Irish clung to their lead, but dropped close matches at Nos. 4 and 5 singles, allowing North Carolina to secure the victory and improve its record to 10-2.
Notre Dame's Taborga was defeated 7-6, 7-6 at No.4 singles while Andrew Laflin was downed by the same score at No. 5 singles.
"We could have won [the Nos. 4 and 5 singles matches] and won 5-2. But `could of, would of, should of' doesn't get it done," Bayliss said.
Following their loss to the Tar Heels, the Irish traveled to Durham, N. C., to take on the Blue Devils on Sunday, but they left any sense of force on the tennis courts in Chapel Hill.
The Notre Dame squad lost the doubles point and won just one singles match in its 6-1 loss to Duke.
Duke took all three doubles matches from a scrambled Irish lineup to secure a 1-0 lead going into singles play. Taborga, who usually pairs with Talarico at No. 1 doubles, did not play on Sunday due to a shoulder injury, leaving the duo of Sachire and Miller to fill in the top slot.
Duke's third-ranked team of Doug Root and Ramsey Smith beat Sachire and Miller 8-6, while Notre Dame's Casey Smith and James Malhame were also edged by the score of 8-6 at No. 2 doubles. Talarico and Daly teamed up for the first time and lost 8-2 in the No. 3 match. Sachire held off a Blue Devil sweep with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Duke's 42nd-ranked Root in the No. 1 singles match. The victory improves Sachire's singles record to 25-9 on the year and marks his 12th win of the year at No. 1 singles.
The Blue Devils then reeled off a string of straight set victories in the remaining five singles matches to take home the win.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 28, 2000
