Feb. 7, 2012
Complete Results
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: Notre Dame 5, Northwestern 2,
Records: NU (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten), Notre Dame (6-3, 0-0 Big East)
Next NU Event: Friday, Feb. 10 -- at Middle Tennessee State (Nashville, Tenn.), 3 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the first time this season Northwestern's men's tennis team came up short in a dual match as it fell to the visiting Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill., 5-2. The Wildcats had been undefeated in five duals thus far in 2012.
Notre Dame (6-3, 0-0 Big East) dented the scoreboard first by winning all three doubles matches on Tuesday. After racing out to a quick 2-0 advantage at No. 2 doubles, Raleigh Smith (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Alex Pasareanu (Bluffton, S.C./Heritage Academy) dropped seven straight games before eventually falling by a score of 8-3. Josh Graves (Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet) and Spencer Wolf (Coral Springs, Fla./Laurel Springs) fell victim to a similar fate in their match at No. 1. The Wildcats (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) fought to tie Notre Dame, 4-4, but dropped four straight to end the match, giving the doubles point to the Fighting Irish.
In their match at No. 3 doubles, Tobias Reitz (Reinbeck, Germany/Sachsenwaldschule Reinbeck) and Sidarth Balaji (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) led 5-3 before their opponents, Billy Pecor and Sam Keeton stormed back. Notre Dame's pair would grab a 7-6 lead before winning the match, 9-8 (5). Tuesday marked the first time that the Wildcats had lost the doubles point this year.
"We got off to a slow start and Notre Dame, to their credit, jumped on us early," said Northwestern head coach Arvid Swan. "We didn't make the shots we needed to make consistently and a good team like that will always make you pay."
Niall Fitzgerald, Notre Dame's true Irishman hailing from Wicklow, added the second point of the night for his team with a win over NU's Nikhil Jayashankar (Saratoga, Calif./Saratoga) in the No. 6 singles match. The Wildcat newcomer led the first set, 2-1, but Fitzgerald worked to earn a 4-2 lead and never looked back. In the second stanza, Jayashankar fell behind 5-0 and eventually lost the frame, 6-1.
At No. 1 singles, Balaji got off to a fast start against Casey Watt when he won the first two games in set one. Leading 40-15 in the third, Watt rallied back to win that game and eventually the set, 7-5. He also won the second set, 6-3, to secure ND's third point of the evening.
Notre Dame clinched the team triumph with its win at No. 3 singles. No. 74 Sam Keeton knocked off Northwestern's No. 97 Spencer Wolf in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.
Pasareanu provided the first bright spot of the night as he won his contest at No. 5 singles over Blas Moros of the Irish. The South Carolina native, won the first set, 6-3 before dropping the second, 6-4. Pasareanu survived the superbreaker, 10-4 to win it for Northwestern.
Smith provided a second highlight for the 'Cats as he won his match at No. 4 singles in three sets over Billy Pecor. With the victory, Smith improved to a perfect 6-0 in singles play; he is Northwestern's lone unbeaten in 2012.
"We're certainly disappointed with the result," said Swan. "We have to get right back to work because we have two more tough matches away from home this weekend."
Northwestern will hit the road to Nashville, Tenn. for its next two matches. Friday, the 'Cats will square off versus Middle Tennessee State at 3 p.m. On Sunday, Feb. 12 the Wildcats will play against the Vanderbilt Commodores at 1 p.m.
Doubles
1. Casey Watt/Niall Fitzgerald (ND) def. Josh Graves/Spencer Wolf (NU) - 8-4
2. Greg Andrews/Spencer Talmadge (ND) def. Raleigh Smith/Alex Pasareanu (NU) - 8-3
3. Billy Pecor/Sam Keeton (ND) def. Tobias Reitz/Sidarth Balaji (NU) - 9-8 (5)
Order of finish: 2, 1*, 3
Singles
1. Casey Watt (ND) def. Sidarth Balaji (NU) - 7-5, 6-3
2. Greg Andrews (ND) def. Josh Graves (NU) - 6-4, 6-4
3. Sam Keeton (ND) def. Spencer Wolf (NU) - 7-5, 6-2
4. Raleigh Smith (NU) def. Billy Pecor (ND) - 7-6, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
5. Alex Pasareanu (NU) def. Blas Moros (ND) - 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)
6. Niall Fitzgerald (ND) def. Nikhil Jayashankar (NU) -6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 1, 3*, 5, 2, 4
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