The Notre Dame men’s tennis team faced off against the University of Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday for the first half of a double header.
The match was the first of the season for the Irish squad. After a month since their last collegiate competition, the Wildcats proved to be a formidable opponent. 
Six players competed on behalf of the Irish. As a wall of snow descended upon campus, Irish junior Richard Ciamarra and senior Matt Gamble competed in a doubles match to start the afternoon off.
The pair faced off against freshman Gabriel Diallo and junior Millen Hurrion. In an intense match, the Notre Dame duo fell to Kentucky, 2-6.
That wasn’t the only Irish doubles team to fall at the hands of the visiting Wildcats.
Irish senior Guillermo Cabrera and junior William Howells played against Wildcat freshman Alexandre LeBlanc and sophomore Kevin Huempfner in an equally heated contest. Kentucky took home the win, with a final score of 3-6.
The Irish were much more successful in their singles matches on the other side of the competition. Junior Tristan McCormick dominated his match, winning two straight sets, 7-5 and 6-4.
Adding to the team’s success was Ciamarra, who won his singles match against opponent freshman Liam Draxl. This match went straight to the wire, with Draxl taking the first set, 3-6, and Ciamarra claiming the last two sets for himself, 7-5 and 6-4.
Tallying up the results of all the afternoon’s matches, the Irish fell short to Kentucky, 2-5.
Moving on the second part of the double header, the Irish men will play against the Purdue Boilermakers on Monday. This match will also take place at home, giving the Irish squad an opportunity to sleep in their own beds before getting up to play again.
The expectations are always high against a regional rival like Purdue. The Irish will be looking to bounce back hard from yesterday’s competition. The matches are set to start at 4 p.m. at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
