March 23, 2014
THE FLATS – Cole Fiegel continued a stellar spring campaign for Georgia Tech by winning at No. 4 singles, but Georgia Tech dropped a 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis match to 11th-ranked Notre Dame Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
Fiegel rallied from a first-set loss to pull out the only point for the Yellow Jackets, who fell to 7-7, 1-3 in the ACC. The Fighting Irish improved to 13-5, 3-2 ACC, after completing a weekend road sweep of the Jackets and Clemson.
“Credit to Notre Dame, they’re a solid team all the way up and down the line up,” said Tech head coach Kenny Thorne. “I thought the doubles was key. We were fighting back from there. They played well at No. 1 where we’ve been having success, and I think that started the momentum in their favor.”
Tech’s top duo of Eduardo Segura and Carlos Benito, ranked 20th in the nation, were edged by the Irish team of Greg Andrews and Alex Lawson, ranked 18th, by a score of 8-6 to clinch the doubles point for Notre Dame. Freshman Will Showers and junior Colin Edwards of Georgia Tech fell 8-3 to the Irish’s Eddy Covalschi and Quentin Monaghan at No. 3, leaving the court 2 match unfinished.
Billy Pecor recorded the first point of singles play at No. 6, beating Tech’s Edwards, 6-1, 6-1, then Nathan Rakitt lost on court No. 1, 6-3, 6-2 to Andrews of the Fighting Irish, the #28 singles player in the nation. The clinching point for the Irish came from No. 2, where Segura was beat 6-3, 6-1 by Monaghan. The remaining matches were played out, the first of which ended in a close 6-3, 6-4 win by Eric Schnurrenberger over Tech’s Showers on court No. 5.
Fiegel earned the Tech point after losing his first set in a tiebreaker, but came back to outlast Covalschi, 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2), on court 4, and improved to 10-1 in dual matches this spring. Benito lost on court 3 in a third-set tiebreaker to Ryan Bandy.
Thorne set his sights on moving forward. “We’ve got Wake Forest and N.C. State on the road next week, so that’s our focus right now.”
The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C, to take on the 18th-ranked Wake Forest, followed by a Sunday match at No. 31 NC State.
#11 Notre Dame 6, Georgia Tech 1
Mar 23, 2014 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #28 Greg Andrews (ND) def. Nathan Rakitt (GT) 6-3, 6-2
2. Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-3, 6-1
3. Ryan Bandy (ND) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)
4. Cole Fiegel (GT) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 1-0 (10-2)
5. Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Will Showers (GT) 6-3, 6-4
6. Billy Pecor (ND) def. Colin Edwards (GT) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #18 Greg Andrews/Alex Lawson (ND) def. #20 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-6
2. #63 Nathan Rakitt/Cole Fiegel (GT) vs. Josh Hagar/Billy Pecor (ND) 5-5, unfinished
3. Eddy Covalschi/Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. Will Showers/Colin Edwards (GT) 8-3
Match Notes
Notre Dame 13-5, 3-2 ACC; National ranking #11
Georgia Tech 7-7, 1-3 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,1,2,5,4,3)
Match played indoors
