Irish men’s tennis expects challenge against Michigan

By LUCIA AGUZZI sports Writer

The n o. 37 n otre d ame men’s tennis team is preparing this week to face the n o. 4 University of m ichigan Wolverines at the e ck Tennis Pavilion Thursday night. The Irish are coming off two winning matches from s aturday against n o. 49 Wisconsin and University of Illinois c hicago, adding to their now 7-3 season record.

The Irish played m ichigan in the fall in a friendly tournament, and head coach r yan s achire knows the value of playing highly ranked teams like them.

“It’ll be a challenge for us, [they] have huge amounts of firepower at every spot in their lineup. It’s gonna be really fun. It’ll be an unbelievable opportunity for us to test ourselves,” s achire said. d ominko has been pairing up for doubles with senior c onnor Fu, who s achire notes has become somewhat of a “big brother” to s ebastian on the team. The pair have been unstoppable on the court as of recent, and the same is expected for Thursday’s match. m ichigan currently boasts a 12-1 record, their only loss s unday against n o. 7 Texas. While the Irish do have an at-home advantage, where they are 4-0 right now, m ichigan is a force to be reckoned with, and their one loss against Texas came in a neutral site. m ichigan also has n o. 10 and 11 singles players Andrew Fenty and Patrick m aloney, respectively, as well as two more in the top 20. d espite the Irish’s hot streak, they have been unable to beat any top-20 teams in competition. h owever, the Irish are prepared and ready to face off against m ichigan. d ominko was named A cc Player of the Week after his dominating victory s aturday. e arlier in the season, d ominko and Fu were named A cc d oubles Team of the Week.

The team as a whole has been doing well this season, but individual players on the team have also been shining on the court. Freshman s ebastian d ominko has been a force to face lately and was ranked 23rd individually.

“I don’t know that any of our guys have done that as freshmen. I don’t even look at him as a freshman anymore, he’s just a really good player,” s achire said about d ominko.

Against the Wolverines, s achire hopes for a learning opportunity for the team as a whole.

“They bring an eye level of intensity and firepower at every position. We know we’re gonna have to play well to have a chance to win. We know we can play with those teams and have a shot at being successful,” he added.

The face-off with m ichigan opens the gate to the upcoming schedule for the Irish, which has a number of noteworthy opponents on the list. As Thursday approaches, the team has been training specifically not only for the matchup with m ichigan, but also n o. 3 o hio s tate on s aturday.

If n otre d ame hopes to continue their climb in the ranks, they must have a good showing in one of their upcoming ranked games. Their opportunity is now, with a series of four ranked opponents in m ichigan, o hio s tate, n o. 10 U nc and n o. 22 d uke.

The Irish will kick of this series Thursday, when they host m ichigan at the e ck Tennis Pavilion at 6 p.m. es T. Contact

Mike “The Real Big” Guyette of Keough Hall def. Cesar “Showtime”

Sanchez of Baumer Hall s anchez employed a manifold of punching techniques to keep “The r eal b ig” at bay out of the gate. At the end of the opening round, Guyette did get payback when s anchez lost his footing and fell flat down on the ring. s anchez pulled out a similar strategy in round two, coming in hot at the start. Guyette was done putting up with s anchez’s style, and he put the junior from b aumer h all repeatedly on the ropes in round three. The Keough h all junior won by unanimous decision.

Harry “Soup” Peluso of Keough Hall def. Aidan “Sigma” Francfort of Morrissey Manor

With his balanced athleticism, the Keough h all sophomore found early success traveling around the ring. Peluso struck early in round two, and Francfort was back on the ropes. The m orrissey m anor sophomore delivered heavy blows, but not enough of them to counter the heavy onslaught of Peluso. Francfort responded with some resolve in round three, even inducing a brief pause, but chances of a win were slim for the sophomore in blue. b y referee stoppage, Peluso took home the victory from the gold corner.

Jesse “Justice” Salazar of Morrissey Manor, def. Brandon Rose r ose and s alazar came out swinging, alternately backing each other into a corner.

“Justice” landed several swift and well-placed jabs and uppercuts in the second round, taking a number of hits to the face himself. r ose chased s alazar about the ring as both boxers began to tire in the last round, but “Justice” refused to give in. h is quick footwork and unrelenting combos earned unanimous victory in the battle.

Nolan “Toothless” Lyon of Carroll Hall, def. Sean “Wheezy” McAleer of O’Neill Family Hall

After a series of potent punches — some that hit the mark and plenty that missed — n olan “Toothless” Lyon gained the upper hand over “Wheezy“ in the first round. m cAleer matched Lyon as the second round bell rang but quickly lost steam to the “Toothless” torrent. After two eight-counts in round two,

Lyon was declared the winner by referee stoppage.

Matthew “Two Cup” Turzai of Keenan Hall def. Roberto “El Patron” Rodriguez b oth boxers exhibited highly-skilled punches, but d eFalco’s jab-plus-righthook power combo had no mercy on c aden “c adenator” m c d evitt. In round two, “ h itman” kept powering punches through m c d evitt’s gloves and dodging counterattacks. ”c adenator“ held his own through all three rounds against the senior captain’s barrage, but “ h itman” secured unanimous victory in the end.

In the first few tense seconds, Turzai and r odriguez were both chomping at the bit for an opening, but “Two c up” capitalized more quickly on his opponent’s vulnerabilities. h e continued this pattern as the rounds went on, first disarming “e l Patron” with more basic punches, then closing in with rapid hooks.

Though r odriguez refused to go down without a fight, “Two c up” controlled the ring from the gold corner and took home a unanimous victory.

Andrew “The Red Scare” Cassidy of Keenan Hall def. Elliot “The Lake” Como of Keough Hall c assidy’s calm, collected fighting style initially clashed with c omo’s movement around the ring. “The r ed s care” held his ground though, soon dominating the center of the ring and leaving “The Lake” defenseless on its outskirts. c assidy’s punishing punches led to a decisive victory via a referee-stopped contest in the second round.

Charlie “Scro” Fredian of Duncan Hall def. Richie “Mysterious” Mistichelli of Keenan Hall r ichie “ m ysterious” m istichelli showcased some lengthy combos in the first round, backing “ s cro” against the ropes and landing nearly ten consecutive punches. c harlie “ s cro” Fredian bit back with his own well-placed hits and technical headshots. b oth boxers withstood a good battering and split the judges’ decision, but “ s cro” walked out of the ring victorious.

Ryan “Homie” Quan of Morrissey Manor def.

Connor “The Hound” Hinkes of Zahm House “ h omie” initially exploded from the gold corner with punches that were anything but friendly. c onnor “The h ound” h inkes answered with his own set of jarring hits, sending “ h omie” to his heels several times in the second round. r yan “ h omie” Quan imposed ownership over the ring in the final round, sending “The h ound” tumbling to the ground and solidifying a unanimous victory.

James “Gimme the Shimmie” Lawrence def. Noah “Rapagão” Gagnon “Gimme the s himmie” and “ r apagão” traded a series of lateral punches in the first few exchanges. Lawrence gradually forced Gagnon into a defensive shell and took the offensive edge at the end of the first round.

Gagnon landed a few hits to the body, but Lawrence’s ability to keep throwing as both boxers tired earned him extra points in the second round. b y round three, both boxers slowed, succumbing to fatigue. Gagnon landed some strong punches in round three, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the first two rounds. “Gimme the s himmie” won by split decision.