Notre Dame will play its fourth consecutive home tennis match of the week Friday when No. 9 Virginia visits Eck Tennis Pavilion.
The Irish (8-6, 1-2 ACC) have won two out of their three contests on the current home stand, which will continue Sunday with a doubleheader against Georgia Tech and IPFW.
However, outside of the recent homestand, the Irish are currently in the midst of a rough stretch. Those two recent wins have been the only ones in their last seven matches. Notre Dame fell to No. 24 Texas Tech, 4-3, on Tuesday. The result of the match came down to the singles matchup between Texas Tech freshman Connor Curry and Notre Dame junior Nicolas Montoya. Ultimately, Curry defeated Montoya in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. The loss to the Red Raiders (15-4) was only the second home loss for the Irish on the season and their first since Jan. 25 defeat to Columbia.
After the loss to Texas Tech, the match on Friday will be a return to conference play for Notre Dame. Notre Dame has won one of its three ACC contests so far. After losing to No. 16 Virginia Tech and Louisville consecutively on the road, the Irish picked up a 7-0 victory over Boston College at home last Sunday.
The Cavaliers (10-3, 3-0 ACC) come into Friday’s contest with an unbeaten conference record that includes victories over Clemson, North Carolina State and No. 12 Wake Forest, two of which came on the road.
One of the key matchups to watch Friday is the No. 1 singles spot, which will pit Irish junior Quentin Monaghan, ranked No. 22 in the country, against Virginia junior Ryan Shane, who is ranked third nationally.
The Irish and Cavaliers are set to play at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
