Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
No. 36 Notre Dame
Red Raiders Drop Irish On St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2015 | Men's Tennis
Connor Curry won his fourth straight match to lead No. 24 Texas Tech to a 4-3 win over No. 36 Notre Dame.
March 17, 2015
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Even irony has its place.
Texas Tech freshman Connor Curry, an Irish-American, battled back after dropping the first set, to lead the No. 24 Red Raiders (15-4) to a 4-3 win over No. 36 Notre Dame (8-6) on St. Patrick's Day at the Eck Tennis Center.
"First of all, it was just another incredible effort by our guys," said Red Raider head coach Tim Siegel. "After losing the doubles point, you saw this team rally back to beat a really good Notre Dame team on their home court. This Notre Dame beat No. 14 Northwestern and No. 31 Oklahoma State and lost a close match to No. 2 Illinois."
The Red Raiders are now 4-1 in 4-3 matches this season.
The win comes on the heels of the Red Raiders jumping from No. 34 in the ITA Top 75 poll to No. 24. Texas Tech has now defeated three straight opponents inside the ITA Top 40 for the first time since 2010. That year, Texas Tech top No. 38 Notre Dame (W, 4-0), No. 17 Oklahoma (W, 4-3) and No. 27 Fresno State (4-3).
The Red Raiders are now 8-4 against ranked teams this season and have topped No. 31 San Diego (W, 5-2), No. 30 Indiana (W, 4-1) and No. 36 Notre Dame (W, 4-3) in a span of five days.
Curry, who has now won four straight matches at No. 6, dropped the opening set to Nicolas Montoya, 6-2, rebounded to drop the Notre Dame junior, 6-1, 6-3, to seal the win.
After dropping the doubles point to give the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead, No. 109 Jolan Cailleau dropped Eric Schnurrenberger, 6-2, 6-3, to tie the match, 1-1. It was Cailleau's ninth straight win and 21st win of the season.
Red Raider freshman Alex Sendegeya added a 6-2, 6-1 win over Josh Hagar at No. 3 and Hugo Dojas followed with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 win over Eddy Covalshi at No. 2 "What can you say? Alex and Jolan are playing tremendous tennis right now," added Siegel. "We have two freshmen and a sophomore playing great tennis."
With Texas Tech leading 3-1, Notre Dame fought back after Alex Lawson dropped Francisco Zambon, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5. Then No. 22 Quentin Monaghan topped No. 43 Felipe Soares, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, to tie the match, 3-3.
The Red Raiders have now won 15 matches in a season for the eighth time under head coach Tim Siegel and the 27th time in program history.
#34 Texas Tech 4, #36 Notre Dame 3
Notre Dame, Ind. (Eck Tennis Pavilion)
Singles
1. #22 Quentin Monaghan (ND) def. #43 Felipe Soares (TT) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
2. Hugo Dojas (TT) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-3, 6-4
3. Alex Sendegeya (TT) def. Josh Hagar (ND) 6-2, 6-1
4. #109 Jolan Cailleau (TT) def. Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) 6-2, 6-3
5. Alex Lawson (ND) def. Francisco Zambon (TT) 6-4, 6-4
6. Connor Curry (TT) def. Nicolas Montoya (ND) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1. #8 Billy Pecor / Alex Lawson (ND) vs. #24 Felipe Soares / Hugo Dojas (TT) 5-4, unfinished
2. #14 Eddy Covalschi / Josh Hagar (ND) def. Alex Sendegeya / Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-3
3. Quentin Monaghan / Dougie Barnard (ND) def. Connor Curry / Francisco Zambon (TT) 6-4
Records: #24 Texas Tech 15-4; #36 Notre Dame 8-6.
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,3,5,2,1,6)
T-2:34 A-40
Players Mentioned
