Last Friday, the No. 33 ranked Notre Dame men’s tennis team took on Florida State in an ACC conference matchup. Despite a win at the one singles spot as well as three other matches that went a full three sets, the Irish (9-8, 3-4 ACC) ultimately fell to the Seminoles (6-12, 1-7 ACC) 6-1, putting Notre Dame at 9-8 on the year and 3-4 in ACC play. The Irish were also scheduled to play the Miami Hurricanes (4-7, 2-4 ACC) on Sunday, however, the match was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests on the Miami team.
In doubles, the Irish had a tall task as the number one and two Seminoles doubles teams were ranked in the top 75 duos in the nation. At the number two doubles spot, sophomore Matthew Che and senior Richard Ciamarra fell to No. 62 redshirt senior Marcus Walters and redshirt freshman Loris Puorroy 6-2. Florida State secured the doubles point with a victory at the number three spot when graduate student Brandon Ancona and senior William Howells fell to redshirt junior Chase Wood and sophomore Andreja Petrovic 6-1.
In singles play, No. 91 junior Axel Nefve won a hard fought three set victory over redshirt senior Alex Knaff 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to secure the lone Irish point in the match. Down the singles line, Richard Ciamarra, senior Tristan McCormick and sophomore Matthew Che also took their competition three sets however, all were unable to convert in the final set.
Looking ahead, the Fighting Irish will be returning home to take on Louisville (7-7, 2-5 ACC) on April 3. The Irish won their last matchup against the Cardinals 4-1 on February 28th. While not ranked as a team in the ITA rankings, the Cardinals do have a ranked doubles squad in the pairing of junior Fabien Salle and sophomore Matthew Fung at No. 70 as well as a ranked singles player in junior Sergio Hernandez Ramirez at No. 63.
Doubles play is set to begin at 1 P.M. EST at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Current Notre Dame, Holy Cross and Saint Mary’s students will be able to attend the match outdoors with a valid student ID.
