Huskies end Irish tournament play
Katie Hughes
Sports Writer
The Irish men's tennis team ended its 2000-01 campaign in the second round of the tournament with a 4-1 loss to Washing-ton, ending a path that soared past expectations.
The Irish defeated No. 47 Harvard decisively 4-0 to advance to the second round in their 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
The 19th-ranked doubles team of juniors Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico defeated Harvard's Barker and Turner 8-1, and Matt Daly and Luis Haddock-Morales defeated Chiou and Snyder at No. 3 doubles 8-5 to take the doubles point. Junior Aaron Talarico won 6-3, 6-3 over Harvard's Anthony Barker at No. 4 singles , sophomore Brian Farrell took No. 5 6-2, defeating Harvard's George Turner, 6-2, and senior Matt Daly won at No. 6 6-2, 6-3 over Mark Riddell to clinch the victory. The last three singles matches were abandoned.
The Irish headed into the second round of NCAAs looking for their first trip to the final 16 since 1994, knowing what the 18th ranked Washington Huskies were capable of doing.
"Washington has had an up and down year, but when they get it together, they're pretty
talented. They've only had one loss all year, to No. 1 Georgia," said head coach Bob Bayliss.
Washington took Nos. 1 and 3 doubles, clinching the singles point to make the score 1-0, then Haddock-Morales defeated Jeremy Berman 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. The Huskies then took Nos. 1, 4 and 5 singles, winning the match 4-1, and advancing to play second-seeded UCLA.
"The score was a little misleading," said Bayliss. "Matt Daly and Javier Taborga were winning their matches. We missed a lot of very good opportunities, and in that process lost some momentum. That was the beginning of a collapse for us. There were a lot of ifs, but if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."
Senior Matt Daly was defeating Washington's Dillon Ruby 7-6, 2-1 when the match ended. Daly finishes his last season for the Irish having won eight of nine dual singles matches.
"Matt Daly had as big a turnaround this year as anyone we've had in a while," said
Bayliss. "He's been a real beacon and a real example this year. He's very team-oriented."
While the team's tournament run is finished, Taborga and Talrico will continue on to compete in the next round of the doubles tournament on May 23 in Athens, Ga.
"Last year, we were kind of in awe of being at NCAAs," said Talarico. "If we play together and we play as a team, if we're on the same page we can do some great things on
the court. I think our games compliment each other. I was really proud of all the guys this year, I wish we could have brought the whole team down to Athens."
The Irish finish the season 17-7, most of their losses, including heartbreakers to Indiana State, Miami and SMU, could have easily ended in Irish victories.
Entering the 2001 season, Notre Dame lost its best player, senior Ryan Sachire, and were ranked 34th. The season evolved into a mix of exceeding expectations by winning the Blue Gray Invitational and flirting with an elite top 10 ranking, thanks to the reliable, consistent performances from the bottom of the Irish lineup.
"This year we had a lot of different characteristics from each guy on the team," said Talarico. "A lot of times we just clicked. Coming off of the Blue-Gray, I felt like we could have beat any team, but as the season lagged on, we kind of hit a lower point and didn't perform as well as we should have."
This season, Irish tennis raised the bar by churning out solid match after solid match, and heading into next season, they will lose only one starter, Daly.
"Once you begin to exceed any expectations you originally had, you like the taste of that," said Bayliss. "Your expectations continue to grow. Mine have, and the team's have as well. What we got this year was the confidence that we can play with the best teams in the country, and with some new freshmen next year, we could be the best we've been in over a decade. Until you win it all, you're never quite satisfied."
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
