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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Squad competes away from home

The Irish continued their fall tournament schedule this weekend, as 10 of 13 players traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the Crimson Tide Four in the Fall tournament.

Irish head coach Ryan Sachire said Notre Dame had a productive trip in a weekend that included matches against Columbia, Alabama and South Florida.

“Overall, it was a good experience for our team, no question about it,” Sachire said. “It was a really high level of competition. We saw some really good teams down there. And that’s our goal for our players in the fall, to expose them to the highest level of competition we can. From that perspective it was good.”



Senior Eric Schnurrenberger hits a backhand during Notre Dame’s win against Kentucky on Feb. 2, 2014 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Senior Eric Schnurrenberger hits a backhand during Notre Dame’s win against Kentucky on Feb. 2, 2014 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Senior Eric Schnurrenberger hits a backhand during Notre Dame’s win against Kentucky on Feb. 2, 2014 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.


Despite picking up a handful of victories against each team they played, Sachire said Notre Dame could have performed better over the weekend.

“We always want to win more than we do,” Sachire said. “Sometimes you come home with a little bit of a sour taste thinking you could’ve grabbed a couple more wins. We know there were some matches we could’ve won. There were some guys that could’ve played well. We have three weeks now until the regional championships that we’re hosting. We’re coming home with a really good feel for what we need to do to get ready.”

In the coming weeks, the Irish will compete in Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) events, starting with the All-American championships next week in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the USTA/ITA national indoor championships in November.

Notre Dame will look towards a number of upperclassmen this year, and Sachire said a pair of his seniors had a particularly good weekends in Alabama.

“I want to highlight two seniors who did a really great job,” he said. “Eric [Schnurrenberger] and Kenny [Sabacinski] played really well. They really stuck out to me as having strong tournaments in particular. They’ve proven they can win at this level, to handle the competition we put in front of them, and they’re continuing to improve, which is really exciting for me to see.”

Friday, Schnurrenberger defeated Columbia senior Eric Rubin (7-6, 6-4) and was a part of the doubles tandem with fellow senior Quentin Monaghan that beat Alabama freshman Mazen Osama and senior Becker O’Shaughnessey on Saturday (6-3).

For his part, Sabacinski pulled out a victory over Alabama sophomore Danny Kerznerman on Saturday (6-0, 6-2).

The Irish have a quick turn around as they begin preparation for the ITA All-American championships at Michael Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which kick off with qualifying on Saturday and conclude Oct. 11.