March 21, 2009
Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -
The men's tennis team was defeated by Wisconsin at the 2009 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic by a score of 4-3. The Irish rallied from a 2-0 deficit but could not hold onto a 3-2 lead as Wisconsin earned wins at fifth and sixth singles to clinch the match. With the loss, Notre Dame moves to 9-9 on the season.
Notre Dame, currently ranked 26th, dropped the doubles point, as Wisconsin, currently ranked 29th, won at first and third doubles. At first doubles, Notre Dame's 25th-ranked team of Brett Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Tyler Davis (Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan) were defeated by 17th-ranked Moritz Bauman and Marek Michalicka, 8-6. Stephen Havens (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Casey Watt (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) earned an 8-3 win at second doubles over Luke Rassow-Kantor and Patrick Pohlmann. At third doubles the Badger tandem of Michael Dierberger and Michael Muskievicz downed Notre Dame's Niall Fitzgerald (Wicklow, Ireland) and Matt Johnson (Portage, Mich./Portage Central), 8-6, to give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
Wisconsin extended the lead to 2-0 by virtue of 47th-ranked Baumann's win over 22nd-ranked Helgeson, 6-2, 6-0 at first singles. The Badger lead was then cut to one as Havens earned a win at second singles over 37th-ranked Michalicka, 6-3, 6-2. Daniel Stahl's (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) 6-3, 7-5 win at fourth singles over Rassow-Kantor tied the match at 2-2.
Notre Dame took a 3-2 lead when Watt knocked off Pohlmann at third singles, 7-5, 6-3. But Wisconsin rallied for wins at fifth and sixth singles to take the match. At fifth singles, sophomore David Anderson (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) lost to Peter Marrack, 7-5, 6-1. At sixth singles, Muskievicz downed Fitzgerald, 6-3, 6-1.
The Irish return home to play host to BIG EAST foe South Florida on Saturday, March 28. The Irish will also play ninth-ranked Illinois at home on Sunday, March 29. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
NOTES: Alabama and Tennessee will play for the 2009 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic title on Sunday ... 2009 marks the 60th year of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic ... the Irish have taken part in the classic every year since 1991 ... Notre Dame now holds a 40-24 all-time record at the event ... the Irish are three-time champions, having won the tournament in 1993, 2001 and 2007 ... the Irish earned runner-up status in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2006 ... Saturday's loss to Wisconsin marked Notre Dame's second 4-3 loss of the season to the Badgers, having previously played Wisconsin on March 1 ... the South Florida match will be Notre Dame's first match of 2009 versus BIG EAST opposition.
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