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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

ND to take on Wake Forest, NC State at Eck

Notre Dame will host No. 12 Wake Forest in its second straight home match and penultimate regular season contest Friday at Eck Tennis Pavilion.

The Irish (13-9, 5-5 ACC) will follow that match with their final match of the season tomorrow against North Carolina State.



Irish blah blah blah
Irish blah blah blah
Irish sophomore Eddy Covalschi serves during Notre Dame's 4-3 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 24 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.


“I think the last three four or weeks, we’ve been playing pretty well,” Irish head coach Ryan Sachire said. “Certainly, to get a win over a good Clemson team like we did last week has continued that momentum, and we are really excited about the opportunities this weekend.”

Following their recent victory, the Irish welcome No. 12 Wake Forest (18-6, 8-3 ACC) today. The Demon Deacons have won five straight, most recently taking both matches of a home doubleheader against North Carolina and The Citadel last Sunday. Sachire, however, said he thinks his team’s tough schedule this season has them well prepared for the challenge.

“Clearly tomorrow, we’re not going to see anything that we haven’t seen this year,” Sachire said. “It’s not like we’re going to be in an environment or playing against an opponent that is beyond what we’ve had on our schedule this season. That’s why we scheduled so tough out of conference, to prepare ourselves for these matches. I think we’re confident enough to handle what Wake Forest is going to have. We just need to go out and execute and play well.”

Despite their stellar overall record, Wake Forest’s road record this season is only 3-4, which could be an advantage for the Irish, who have been 9-4 at home to this point.

At No. 1 singles, Irish junior Quentin Monaghan, who is ranked 9th nationally and has won 11 straight matches, is set to face No. 10 junior Romain Bogaerts.

Both schools also boast highly ranked doubles pairs. Notre Dame junior Alex Lawson and senior Billy Pecor are ranked 12th nationally and will likely be opposed by the No. 10 doubles duo of freshman Skander Mansouri and redshirt freshman Christian Seraphim.

After taking on Wake Forest on Friday, the Irish will finish regular season play Saturday afternoon at home against NC State (15-9, 4-6 ACC). The Wolfpack are below .500 in conference play but have had success on the road this season. NC State will head into Saturday’s contest with a 8-2 road record.

The Irish and Demon Deacons are set to begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Courtney Tennis Center. Notre Dame and North Carolina State are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Eck Tennis Pavilion.