Notre Dame Clips Northwestern, 4-3

1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Results

Jan. 30, 2015


	#14 Notre Dame 4, #30 Northwestern 3 Eck Tennis Pavilion • South Bend, Ind. Results

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- In what has become an annual classic of competitive tennis, No. 30 Northwestern clashed with No. 14 Notre Dame in a Friday night nail-biter. Scores swung back and forth until the very end, but the Fighting Irish ultimately came out on top 4-3.

The 'Cats introduced a modified doubles lineup to take on an Irish roster that featured two top-10 duos. The change proved successful at No. 3, where new pair Mihir Kumar and Alp Horoz opened with a 6-3 win.

However, Notre Dame struck back when 8th-ranked Alex Lawson and Billy Pecor beat Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer 6-4 at No. 1. There was a fierce battle at the second postion, but the No. 9 duo of Eddy Covalschi and Josh Hagar edged Alex Pasareanu and Sam Shropshire 7-6 (8-6) to take the lead-off point.

The Irish increased their advantage to 2-0 to begin singles competition, when Eric Schnurrenberger defeated Kumar 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4. Logan Staggs, now playing at No. 3, then captured NU's first point with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Covalschi.

The rest of the singles matches extended to three sets. After sustaining a narrow first set loss at No. 6, Horoz rallied back with two strong frames to win 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-2 over Lawson. The score knotted at two a piece.

At No. 5, Baev also took a close loss in the first frame but recovered in the second. However, his ND opponent Pecor ultimately pulled off the 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-5 win to put the Irish up 3-2.

Attention turned to the top two spots for the deciding points. Shropshire clawed back to win a tight second set and force the third at No. 1. Kirchheimer, who climbed to the No. 2 position this week, also engaged in a fierce third frame.

In the end, 37th-ranked Monaghan beat Shropshire 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 to seal the win for Notre Dame.

Kirchheimer finished out his contest at No. 2., where he upset 82nd-ranked Hagar 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 to round out the final score of 4-3.

Up next, Northwestern hosts a double-header on Sunday for its first home contests of the season. No. 11 Duke visits for an 11 a.m. match, followed by UIC at 6 p.m.

#14 Notre Dame 4, #30 Northwestern 3
Doubles Results
1. #8 Alex Lawson/Billy Pecor (ND) def. Fedor Baev/Strong Kirchheimer (ND) 6-4
2. #9 Eddy Covalschi/Josh Hagar (ND) def. Alex Pasareanu/Sam Shropshire (NU) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Mihir Kumar/Alp Horoz (NU) def. Quentin Monaghan/Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*

Singles Results
1. #37 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Sam Shropshire (NU) 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
2. #108 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) def. #82 Josh Hagar (ND) 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5
3. Logan Staggs (NU) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-4, 6-4
4. Eric Shnurrenberger (ND) def. Mihir Kumar (NU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Billy Pecor (ND) def. Fedor Baev (NU) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-5
6. Alp Horoz (NU) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 3, 6, 5, 1*, 2

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