Mens Tennis: Victory over Indiana State boosts team's momentum
BY JOE LINDSLEY
Sports Writer
The Irish were in search of a confidence-boosting conclusion to their regular season.
They found what they were looking for Tuesday, and they hope the 5-2 victory over No. 69 Indiana State will give them momentum heading into next week's Big East Championships.
Playing on their outdoor home courts for the first and only time in the spring season, the Irish quickly built a lead and kept the Sycamores at bay on a day in which the winds were in full force.
"[Tuesday's victory] definitely gives us some confidence going into the Big East," sophomore Paul McNaughton said. "It's just nice to go into the Big East with a win…and we're looking to win the thing."
Both teams had another opponent to contend with beside themselves — the wind.
"It was extremely difficult conditions today," junior tri-captain Matt Scott said. "There wasn't as much clean tennis as their was fighting out points. The number one factor was being tough, mentally tough."
With the score 3-0 in favor of the Irish, the Sycamores obtained their first point thanks to David O'Connell's effort over Nicolas Lopez-Acevedo.
Soon after, Notre Dame ended any hopes of an Indiana State rally. Junior tri-captain Matt Scott came through with the clinching singles victory — a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 triumph over Henry Choi at the No. 2 flight.
Junior tri-captain Luis Haddock, ranked No. 97 nationally, achieved a 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 upset of No. 89 Verdan Vidovic.
The Irish began the day by winning two out of three doubles matches to grab the match's initial point. It was the first time in five matches that Notre Dame has secured the doubles point and just the second in the last eight.
Lopez-Acevedo, a transfer from Bowling Green, and McNaughton clinched the point for the Irish as they edged out a 9-8 (10-8) win at the No. 3 spot over Ionut Hurduc and Dmytro Ishtuganov. Hurduc and Ishtuganov were able to get within a point of victory, but the Irish duo converted three straight points for the win.
"We hauled it together, got down 5-1 in the [tie]breaker, and then we just said, `all right, we're going to win this thing,'" McNaughton said. "It was kind of a see-saw match but we came out on top."
Sophomore Brent D'Amico and Scott notched the first win for the Irish with their defeat of Choi and David O'Connell, 8-2 at the No. 1 position.
Haddock and senior Brian Farrell fell 8-2 to Lovre Brajkovic and Vidovic at the middle flight.
Not only was D'Amico part of the first doubles team off the court, he also completed the first singles competition. The sophomore topped Brajkovic 6-3, 6-0 in a bout at No. 3 that marked the 11th time this season D'Amico has kept his opponent to seven or fewer games.
Patrick Buchanan gave the Irish their third point with the team's second consecutive straight set win. Buchanan, in his third straight winning effort, won 6-2, 6-2 over Ivan D'Argence Areco.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, April 16, 2003
