On Saturday, No. 23 Notre Dame tennis competed against Boston College on the road and managed to escape with a 4-3 win.
This victory brings the Irish (6-0, 1-0 ACC) to an undefeated start 6-0 start on the season, their best start since 2014.
Heading into the matchup with the Eagles (2-2, 0-1), junior captain Alex Lebedev was named ACC Player of the Week for helping the squad secure wins over then-No. 8 Texas and Minnesota, as Lebedev went undefeated in his matches at the ITA Kick-Off event in against both schools.
After a series of tight matches, Notre Dame was able to edge out Boston College to move to 8-0 in all-time competitions. Freshman Richard Ciamarra and junior Grayson Broadus helped carry the Irish in singles play, advancing to 6-0 and 5-0 respectively on the season. Ciamarra downed sophomore Sean Mullins 6-1, 6-1, while Broadus defeated senior Kent Mukai in the No. 4 spot by a margin of 6-0, 6-1. Meanwhile, freshman William Howells enjoyed his first collegiate win in singles competition, taking down sophomore Alexander Chieffalo in three sets, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. The Irish struggled in the No. 1 and 2 singles spots, however, as freshman Tristan McCormick and sophomore Matt Gamble dropped their matches, each in straight sets. The Irish also sacrificed the doubles point, as the duos of senior Brendon Kempin and McCormick and Broadus and Howells each fell in their matches, while Gamble and Ciamarra came up with a 6-4 victory.
Scores were close after several matches until junior Nathan Griffin sealed the victory for Notre Dame. He triumphed in three tight sets and brought the Irish up 4-3 over the Eagles.
Notre Dame travels next to Evanston, Illinois, to compete against Northwestern at the Combe Tennis Center beginning Sunday at noon. The Irish will pick back up with ACC play in over a month when Louisville comes to Notre Dame on March 10.
