University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Notre Dame
Gophers Fall 4-1 in ITA Kick-Off Finals
1/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas - The Gopher Men's Tennis could not capitalize on an opportunity to claim a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships as Minnesota fell 4-1 to Notre Dame at day two of the ITA Kick-Off hosted by Texas.
The day started slowly for the Gophers as they dropped the doubles point for the first time this season, falling 2-1. Justyn Levin and Josip Krstanovic picked up the lone victory for Minnesota (1-2) over the previously unbeaten pairing of Alex Lebedev and William Howells.
Notre Dame (5-0) continued its momentum after knocking off No. 8 Texas on Saturday night. Tristan McCormick and Richard Ciamarra picked up quick victories in fourth and fifth singles to stake a 3-0 lead. Senior Matic Spec picked up the Gophers' lone victory of the day, defeating Matt Gamble in third singles, 6-3, 6-1. Grayson Broaddus survived Justyn Levin in sixth singles, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to claim the victory for Notre Dame.
"It's just a great weekend for us to use as experience to hopefully get better," said head coach Geoff Young after the match. "I hope we use it that way. We aren't playing our best up and down the line-up yet. In order for us to do that, we'll have to learn from this and make better use of our practice."
Members of the two teams had matched up during the fall tournament season at the Gopher Invitational in Minneapolis, and Young gave credit to the Irish four out-dueling the Maroon & Gold in Austin. "We had a couple guys today that were far from their best. That didn't help. [Notre Dame is] a good team. They beat Texas yesterday. They deserve a lot of credit."
Singles
1. #35 Stefan Milicevic (UMN) vs. #45 Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
2. Felix Corwin (UMN) vs. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) 7-5, 4-2, unfinished
3. #73 Matic Spec (UMN) def. Matt Gamble (ND) 6-3, 6-1
4. Tristan McCormick (ND) def. Jackson Allen (UMN) 6-1, 6-1
5. Richard Ciamarra (ND) def. Eli Ogilvy (UMN) 6-2, 6-0
6. Grayson Broadus (ND) def. Justyn Levin (UMN) 7-6 (3), 6-2
Doubles
1. B. Kempin/T. McCormick (ND) def. #26 M. Spec/F. Corwin (UMN) 7-6 (4)
2. Justyn Levin/Josip Krstanovic (UMN) def. William Howells/Alex Lebedev (ND) 6-4
3. Richard Ciamarra/Matt Gamble (ND) def. Stefan Milicevic/Marino Alpeza (UMN) 7-6 (3)
Order of Finish
Doubles (2, 3, 1); Singles (5, 4,3, 6)
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