November 6, 1998

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Four Notre Dame men's tennis players advanced to the third round of the ITA Region IV Championship at Michigan State on Friday, led by top-seeded Ryan Sachire. The eighth-ranked Sachire received a first-round bye and then beat Michigan's John Long 6-3, 6-4 to set up a third-round match against Indiana's Ian Arons. Irish senior Brian Patterson, seeded 13th, rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Brad Anderson in the second round after he had a bye in the first round. He will play Butler's Shlomo Shemesh in the third round.

Irish sophomore Matt Daly won a pair of straight-set matches and next will play Wisconsin's seventh-seeded Mark Loughrin. Daly beat IUPUI's Verdi Contente 6-2, 6-2 and Dayton's Pete Tabernik 6-2, 6-3. After a first-round bye, Notre Dame freshman Andrew Laflin rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over Ball State's Juan Fernandez. He will play Minnesota's Jon Svenson the third round.

Irish freshman Casey Smith, who earned a seed in his first ITA championship, lost a tight 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 match Miami's Champy Halim. Senior Andy Warford beat Louisville's Chris Steel 6-1, 6-4 in the first round but dropped his second-round match 6-3, 6-4 to Michigan State's Ken Kigongo.

In the doubles competition, Daly and Smith advanced to the second round with an 8-3 win over Toledo's Lipp and Morales. Irish freshmen Javier Taborga and Aaron Talarico lost 8-6 to Marquette's Cordenmeier and Kawas. Fourth-seeded Patterson and Sachire received a first-round bye and will play Northern Illinois' Ardvelt and Cantone in the second round.