Coming off a doubleheader sweep Sunday, No. 37 Notre Dame is set to begin a four-match road trip Friday against Miami. The Irish (10-7, 2-3) dominated in both of their matches Sunday, beating both Georgia Tech and IPFW 6-1. The two victories were a welcomed sight for the Irish following home defeats to No. 25 Texas Tech and No. 8 Virginia earlier in the week.
“Even though we lost to Virginia and Texas Tech earlier in the week, we felt like we were playing good tennis and putting ourselves in a position to be successful,” said Irish head coach Ryan Sachire. “We actually entered the matches on Sunday with a lot of confidence that we were doing a lot of the right things and that it was going to be a great day for us and it was.
“It’s one thing to walk off the court and know you did a lot of good things, but winning reinforces the positives and that you are doing things well. We were really excited to continue to do things well and also get the win.”
The wins Sunday furthered a trend dominating for Notre Dame when it comes to playing in doubleheaders. Over the course of the season, Notre Dame has played in three doubleheaders, winning all six of those matches by scores of either 6-1 or 7-0.
“I think it’s maybe a little bit of a coincidence,” said Sachire of his team’s success in doubleheaders. “We’ve had a good year. Short of having a few injuries here and there, our guys are playing well. They’re improving and progressing, and we’ve lost close to a lot of teams. We’re happy with where we are and we’re excited for what’s ahead.”
Notre Dame’s final road trip of the season starts with the Hurricanes (6-9, 0-4), who are looking for their first conference victory of the season. Following Miami, Notre Dame has road contests against Florida State, Duke and North Carolina.
“Our focus is just on Miami right now,” said Sachire. “We know it’s going to be a really tough and competitive match. They’re a good team and playing them down in Miami is not an easy chore, and we know that. We’re hoping to start off this four-match road swing with a good performance and hopefully a win. If we do that then we can build to Florida State, Duke and North Carolina, but it all starts with a good performance on Friday.”
Notre Dame’s first position singles player, junior Quentin Monaghan was named the ACC Tennis Player of the Week following a successful 3-0 weekend.
“We’re continuously excited about the play of our doubles and the play of Quentin Monaghan at number one singles,” said Sachire. “I think that if those two components of our lineup keep putting us in position to get wins in those spots, then we’re going to be tough to beat coming down the stretch.”
The Irish and Hurricanes are set to begin at 2 p.m. Friday at Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Florida.
