On Saturday, No. 32 Notre Dame earned a 5-2 win against Big East opponent No. 47 Louisville in its final dual match of the season, increasing its winning streak to six consecutive matches.
The Irish finished 3-0 in conference play, which made them the favorite for the No. 1 seed heading into the Big East championships next weekend. Saturday's victory marked the first Irish win at Louisville's Bass-Rudd Tennis Center since 2007.
"Overall. I think the recent [winning] streak plays a huge factor and we [have used] that to our advantage," sophomore Mike Fredericka said.
The Irish (16-7) took the lead from the beginning, winning the doubles point when juniors Greg Andrews and Matt Dooley took down the opposing duo of freshman Jeffrey Brown and sophomore Chris Simich 8-1 at No. 3 doubles and the No. 82 duo of junior Billy Pecor and freshman Alex Lawson took down Cardinals sophomore Albert Wagner and freshman Alex Gornet 8-2 at the No. 1 court.
"I think our doubles are really starting to click now, which is really important for us heading into the tournament," Fredericka said.
Singles play started off shakily for Notre Dame - the Irish dropped the first singles match on court No. 3. From there, the Irish did not hesitate to regain control. They won four consecutive singles matches to seal the win.
No. 89 Andrews started the momentum swing for the Irish by defeating No. 66 sophomore Sebastian Stiefelmeyer 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Freshman Quentin Monaghan followed his lead, defeating Wagner 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Pecor clinched the win at No. 4 singles, which increased the Irish lead to 4-1 when he took Louisville sophomore Michael Lippens to three sets and won 1-6, 6-3, 6-0.
With the win secured, sophomore Wyatt McCoy added the final singles victory for the Irish side, beating Gornet 6-2, 6-7, 10-7 on court No. 5.
Now the squad looks to the next step, using the week to prepare for the Big East championships.
"We want to have a great week of practice with a lot of energy and carry that energy with us into the tournament this weekend," Fredericka said.
Notre Dame will next begin competition at the Big East championships, which begin Thursday at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
Contact Megan Finneran at mfinnera@nd.edu
