EVANSTON, Ill. – Opening its 37th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Stanford notched a 4-1 win over Notre Dame Saturday morning at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
The Cardinal (15-10) grabbed the lead 1-0 after winning a hard-fought doubles point with 7-5 wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots.
Sameer Kumar added to the Cardinal’s lead, making quick work of ND’s Kenneth Sabacinski at No. 5 with a 6-3, 6-1 win to make it 2-0.
Tom Fawcett put on a clinic at the No. 1 spot, dispatching 35th-ranked Quentin Monaghan 6-2, 6-1 to put Stanford on the edge of a win at 3-0.
Notre Dame (15-14) battled back at the No. 6 spot with a 6-3, 6-3 win to make it 3-1, but Nolan Paige stepped up to control the No. 4 spot, putting away a 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win for his 10th career match-clinching point.
The Cardinal will face the host, No. 14 Northwestern next. Match time is set for 11 a.m. Sunday in Evanston, Ill.
No. 29 Stanford 4, No. 40 Notre Dame 1
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DOUBLES
1) No.23 Fawcett/Romanowicz (STAN) d. No. 15 Lawson/Monaghan (ND) 7-5
2) Paige/Wilczynski (STAN) d. No. 50 Covalschi/Hagar (ND) 7-5
3) Broadus/Nicolas Montoya (ND) d. Yale Goldberg/Kumar (STAN) 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
1) No. 15 Tom Fawcett (STAN) d. No. 35 Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-2, 6-1
2) Michael Genender (STAN) vs. No. 105 Josh Hagar (ND) 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
3) No. 87 David Wilczynski (STAN) vs. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-7 (3-7), 3-3, unfinished
4) Nolan Paige (STAN) d. Alex Lawson (ND) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
5) Sameer Kumar (STAN) d. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) 6-3, 6-1
6) Grayson Broadus (ND) d. Maciek Romanowicz (STAN) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 1, 6, 4