Texas A&M
Notre Dame
18th-Ranked Aggie Men's Tennis Defeats 24th-Ranked Notre Dame, 5-2
Mar 04, 2011 | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2011
SOUTH BEND, IN - Senior Alexey Grigorov was part of the first match off the court in both doubles and singles as the 18th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated the 24th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 5-2, in Eck Tennis Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana, on Friday.
"We got off to a good start and played well in doubles," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "The guys really adjusted to the conditions well. The courts were playing fast and we got into the flow of the match early."
Grigorov (Moscow, Russia) and freshman teammate Junior Ore (Gaithersburg, MD) made quick work at the No. 2 doubles with an 8-3 win over Notre Dame's Tyler Davis and Stephen Havens. Grigorov turned around and disposed of the Irish's Greg Andrews at the No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-3.
"Grigorov got on a roll and really played a confident game to close out his singles match and you can see him gaining confidence," Denton added. "Jeff (Dadamo) just gutted out a win and found a way to win his match with a third set tiebreaker. I was really pleased to see Colin Hoover play well indoors. He has improved his indoor game and it showed tonight."
"Notre Dame is a dangerous team and especially at home," Denton explained. "I thought we gained some confidence as a team indoors and that could pay dividends down the road if we have to move indoors like we did last year in the NCAA's (Round of 16)."
Junior Colin Hoover (Victoria, TX) teamed with Alberto Bautista (McAllen, TX) to clinch the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Casey Watt and Andrews at the No. 3 doubles. Bautista and Hoover are the No. 45 ranked doubles team in the latest ITA rankings. Hoover was second off in singles play with a 6-3, 6-3 sweep of Niall Fitzgerald at the No. 5 position to put A&M up 3-0.
Notre Dame would cut the lead to 3-1 when Daniel Stahl defeated Alexis Klegou (Dunkerque, France) 7-6, 6-3 at the No. 3 line.
The match was clinched for A&M by senior captain Austin Krajicek (Brandon, FL) at the No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Watt. Krajicek entered play ranked No. 38 in singles while Watt is ranked No. 64 in the latest rankings.
The All-American duo of Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, FL), ranked No. 3 in the country, won their doubles match at the No. 1 position against Spencer Talmadge and Fitzgerald, 8-6. Dadamo, ranked No. 55 in singles, would add the fifth point of the match to the Aggie ledger with a 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 victory over Havens.
The final match of the evening was at the No. 6 line where Bautista battled David Anderson before dropping a third set tiebreaker, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0.
The win improves A&M's overall record to 10-3 on the season, while Notre Dame falls to 8-7. The Aggies will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Badgers on Sunday (Mar. 6) with first serve set for 1 p.m. (CENTRAL).
MEN'S TENNIS
No. 18 Texas A&M 5, No. 24 Notre Dame2
Singles
1. No. 38 Austin Krajicek, A&M def. No. 64 Casey Watt, ND-- 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 55 Jeff Dadamo, A&M def. No. 124 Stephen Havens, ND-- 6-7, 7-6, 1-0
3. Daniel Stahl, ND def. No. 80 Alexis Klegou, A&M--7-6, 6-3
4. Alexey Grigorov, A&M def. Greg Andrews, ND--6-4, 6-3
5. Colin Hoover, A&M def. Niall Fitzgerald, ND-- 6-3, 6-3
6. David Anderson, ND def. Alberto Bautista, A&M--6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Doubles
1. No. 3 Dadamo/Krajicek, A&M def. Spencer Talmadge/Fitzgerald, ND-- 8-6
2. Junior Ore/Grigorov, A&M def. Tyler Davis/Havens, ND--8-3
3. No. 45 Hoover/Bautista, A&M def. Watt/Andrews, ND-- 8-3
Order of Finish:
Doubles 2, 3, 1
Singles 4, 5, 3, 1*, 2, 6
*Clinched match
TEAM RECORDS: Texas A&M (10-3), Notre Dame (8-7)
Players Mentioned
