NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The William and Mary men's tennis team suffered its first setback of the season, 7-0, at No. 29 Notre Dame on Friday evening. The Tribe, which opened the season with a doubleheader sweep for the seventh straight season on Tuesday, fell to 2-1 on the year, while Notre Dame won its season opener.
The Irish took the initial point of the match with doubles victories at the top two posts. Notre Dame's Billy Pecor and Eric Shnurrenberger downed senior
Ben Guthrie and freshman
Addison Appleby, 6-4, at the No. 2 position, while the No. 21 nationally-ranked Irish team of Greg Andrews and Alex Lawson clinched the point with a 6-3 victory over juniors
Aaron Chaffee and
Will Juggins at No. 1. The Tribe senior tandem of
Ben Hoogland and
John Banks led 5-4 at the No. 3 slot over Matt Dooley and Josh Hagar, but the match was abandoned with the doubles points already decided.
The Irish won all six singles matches in straight sets to clinch its first team triumph of the season. Notre Dame's Ryan Bandy upended Guthrie, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2, before Eddy Covalschi knocked off freshman
Damon Niquet, 6-3, 6-0, at the No. 6 post. Wyatt McCoy cemented the Irish victory with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Chaffee at the No. 4 spot.
Hoogland saw his fourth-match win streak come to an end at the hands of No. 22-ranked and reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Greg Andrews at the top position. The Tribe senior dropped a tight 6-4 first set, before Andrews won the second, 6-2. Juggins and Appleby both dropped close contests at the No. 3 and No. 5 positions, respectively. Josh Hagar held off Juggins, 6-4, 6-4, while Appleby fell to Eric Schnurrenberger, 6-3, 6-4.
The Tribe returns to action with its second straight Midwest tilt against a nationally-ranked foe when it travels to No. 32 Northwestern on Sunday afternoon. The match is slated for 1 p.m. ET in Evanston, Ill., and live stats will be available on NUSports.com or by following the link on the schedule page at TribeAthletics.com. The Wildcats opened the season with a 5-2 victory at No. 46-ranked Boise State on Friday.
#29 Notre Dame 7, William and Mary 0
Singles
No. 1 - #22 Greg Andrews (Notre Dame) def.
Ben Hoogland (W&M) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 – Ryan Bandy (Notre Dame) def.
Ben Guthrie (W&M) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 – Josh Hagar (Notre Dame) def.
Will Juggins (W&M) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 – Wyatt McCoy (Notre Dame) def.
Aaron Chaffee (W&M) – 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 – Eric Schnurrenberger (Notre Dame) def.
Addison Appleby (W&M) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Eddy Covalschi (Notre Dame) def.
Damon Niquet (W&M) – 6-3, 6-0
Finishing Order: 2, 6, 4*, 1, 3, 5
Doubles
No. 1 – #21 Andrews/Lawson (Notre Dame) def. Chaffee/Juggins (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Pecor/Schnurrenberg (Notre Dame) def. Guthrie/Appleby (W&M) – 6-4
No. 3 – Banks/Hoogland (W&M) vs. Dooley/Hagar (Notre Dame) – DNF, 5-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1*
