The Irish dropped their second consecutive match yesterday afternoon to No. 14 Duke before capping off the day with a victory over Toledo in a split doubleheader at home.
Duke (6-0) fell behind early to the Irish, but was able to comeback and rally for a 5-2 victory. It was the first deficit that the Blue Devils had faced all season prior to competing at Notre Dame.
Forcing that deficit were the Irish No. 2 and No. 3 doubles pairings. The No. 3 doubles pair of freshman Greg Andrews and junior Casey Watt took down Duke's David Holland and Chris Mengal 8-6. At the No. 2 position, junior Niall Fitzgerald and sophomore Spencer Talmadge improved their doubles record to 4-1 when they defeated Jared Pinsky and Fred Saba 9-8, securing the doubles point.
At No. 1, seniors Tyler Davis and Stephen Havens fell to Reid Carleton and Henrique Cunha in an 8-4 decision.
Cunha defeated No. 1 singles Watt, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. It was the junior's second consecutive loss since coming up with the clinching singles victory over No. 17 Oklahoma last weekend.
Junior Samuel Keeton picked up the lone singles victory for the Irish as he topped freshman Fred Saba, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, for a win at the No. 4 singles position.
In the evening, Notre Dame (3-2) bounced back and snapped their two-match losing streak with a 7-0 victory over Toledo (4-3).
All of the doubles matches were pro sets, as the Irish continued their success at the position from earlier in the day by taking two of the three matches.
The combination of Fitzgerald and Talmadge lost a hard-fought match at No. 1 doubles, 8-6.
At third doubles, freshman Ryan Bandy and senior Matt Johnson downed Mircea Dimofte and Bryant Dudzik in an 8-5 decision at third doubles. Davis and Andrews clinched the doubles point, defeating Leo Sarria and Terence Weigand 8-6.
Watt led the charge at the No. 1 singles position again for the Irish, winning 5-7, 6-1, 10-8. The remaining singles players all won in straight sets.
The Irish will face Wisconsin Tuesday in Madison. The team will conclude the week with another doubleheader this weekend at Michigan State.
