Green Bay Falls to No. 13 Notre Dame in NCAA Tournament

NOTRE DAME, Ind.– The Green Bay men’s tennis team’s impressive 2014 season came to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Phoenix fell 4-0 to No. 13 Notre Dame in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Courtney Tennis Center on the University of Notre Dame campus.

The Horizon League regular season and tournament champions finished the year with an 18-8 overall record, while the Fighting Irish improved to 20-9 and will host No. 38 Ole Miss in Sunday’s second round.

The Irish won the doubles point in convincing fashion, closing out wins at No. 1 and No. 3 while only losing four games in the three matches.

The hosts made it 2-0 when No. 18 Greg Andrews defeated Phoenix junior Michael Tenzer (Neuried, Germany) 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 1 singles spot. Quentin Monaghan got Notre Dame within a point of clinching with his 6-1, 6-2 victory over Howard Scott (Exeter, England) at No. 3, and Josh Hagar finished things off at the No. 4 spot with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Joey Leto (Downers Grove, Ill.).

“Top to bottom, our guys didn’t give up,” Phoenix head coach Mark Thomas said. “They fought every point, but give credit to Notre Dame – they played awesome. We’ve seen them at spots in the fall, and today they just performed at the highest level we’ve seen all year. I think they took us a little by surprise, but that’s a great team. They’re well coached, well trained, and we have a lot to learn from them.”

Freshman Jorge Gonzalez Soler (Madrid, Spain) played well in his first NCAA Tournament experience. After dropping his first set 6-1 at No. 6 singles, the newcomer was locked in a 3-3 battle in the second when the match ended. Sophomore Rowan Isaaks (London, England) was also tied at 2-2 in his second set at No. 5 after falling 6-3 in the opener.

The NCAA appearance was Green Bay’s second in the last three seasons, and the Phoenix is expected to return all eight players from this year’s roster.

“We’ve got everyone back for next year, so we’re excited for the opportunities,” Thomas said. “We’re going to set up some goals in the next week and use this match as a learning experience. Now we’ve been here and we’ve seen a team like this. We’ll use it to get better for next year.”

Notre Dame 4, Green Bay 0
Doubles
No. 1 - #18 Greg Andrews/Alex Lawson (ND) def. Michael Tenzer/Howard Scott (GB) 8-2
No. 2 – Josh Hagar/Billy Pecor (ND) vs. Michael Tebon/Joey Leto (GB) 7-1 unfinished
No. 3 – Matt Dooley/Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Rowan Isaaks/Leopold Gomez Islinger (GB) 8-1

Singles
No. 1 - #24 Greg Andrews (ND) def. Michael Tenzer (GB) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 – Ryan Brady (ND) vs. Leopold Gomez Islinger (GB) 6-2, 3-0 unfinished
No. 3 – Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Howard Scott (GB) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 – Josh Hagar (ND) def. Joey Leto (GB) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 – Eddy Covalschi (ND) vs. Rowan Isaaks (GB) 6-3, 2-2 unfinished
No. 6 – Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) vs. Jorge Gonzalez Soler (GB) 6-1, 3-3 unfinished

**Release courtesy of Green Bay Athletic Communications.