Rockets to Clash with Cardinals and Fighting Irish This Weekend

Friday, March 22

Toledo, Ohio

2:00 PM

University of Toledo

Ball State

Junior Thawin Suksathaporn and the Rockets host Ball State on Friday before taking off for #14 Notre Dame on Sunday.

Photo by: Katherine Jamtgaard

Rockets to Clash with Cardinals and Fighting Irish This Weekend

3/20/2019 4:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Toledo, Ohio - The Toledo men's tennis team will host Mid-American Conference opponent Ball State on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at Shadow Valley Tennis Club in Maumee. Free Fuzzy's Tacos will also be available during Friday's match. The Rockets will then head to South Bend, Ind. to face No. 14 Notre Dame at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The Rockets split their weekend at Buffalo, opening MAC play with a 5-2 win over Binghamton on Saturday before falling 7-0 to Buffalo.

Seniors Vince Anzalone and Omar Espinosa as well as juniors Danilo Vukotic and Thawin Suksathaporn posted two-set sweeps of their opponents in singles action during Saturday's match against Binghamton. Duos Espinosa/Luka Vitosevic and Juan Carranza/Cole Shoults clinched the doubles point for the Rockets.

In Sunday's match against Buffalo, Anzalone put up a fight at the No. 3 singles spot. After winning the first set 7-6, Anzalone fell to Hao Sheng Koay 4-6, 5-10 in the second and third.

Last Time Against Ball State
The Rockets fell to Ball State 5-2 last season in Muncie, Ind. Anzalone and Serjen Olmedo managed to put Toledo on the board with wins on the No. 1 and No. 4 courts. Anzalone defeated Nemanja Guzina 6-4, 6-4 while Olmedo downed Conner Andersen 6-3, 6-1.

Scouting Ball State
Ball State is currently 9-8 (1-1 in the MAC), edging out Xavier and Wright State 4-3 and posting 7-0 sweeps over Indiana Southeast and Taylor. The Cardinals also had a 5-2 victory over Villanova. In MAC play BSU fell to Western Michigan 5-2 before tallying up a 5-2 win over Northern Illinois.

As a freshman Bryce Bonin posted a team-best dual singles record of 15-6, playing primarily at the No. 6 spot. Marko Guzina carried the team's second-best singles dual match record, going 11-12, switching between the No. 1 and No. 2 spot. Guzina's twin, Nemanja Guzina, posted a 7-12 dual match record, also switching between the No. 1 and No. 2 singles position. In doubles action Tom Carney and Chris Adams racked up a 14-5 record at the No. 3 spot, going undefeated in MAC play (5-0).

Last season the Cardinals went 14-11 (3-4 in the MAC), clinching four 4-3 matches against Xavier, Cleveland State, Lipscomb, and Binghamton. BSU also recorded several 5-2 victories including Belmont and IUPUI. In the MAC Tournament Ball State earned a No. 4 seed and fell 4-0 to No. 1 seeded Western Michigan in the semifinal round.

Friday's match against Ball State will be available tape delayed on ESPN+ and BCSN.

Last Time Against Notre Dame
Toledo faced Notre Dame last season in South Bend, falling 7-0 to the Fighting Irish. ND at the time was ranked No. 17. UT's closest match came from the No. 2 court, where Vitosevic fought Matt Gamble. Vitosevic fell in the first set 2-6, but managed to win the second 6-3 to force a third set. Gamble took the third and the win, 6-2.

Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 14 in the nation, going 10-8 (3-2 in the ACC) and earning 4-0 sweeps over Vanderbilt and Louisville as well as a 7-0 sweep over Ball State. ND has captured 5-2 victories over Kentucky, Texas A&M, IUPUI, and Michigan State and snuck away with a 4-3 win over Virginia.

Last season Notre Dame went 19-14 (8-4 in the ACC), capturing tight 4-3 victories over Kentucky, Texas, Boston College, and Louisville. ND posted three 7-0 sweeps on the season and defeated Georgia Tech 4-1 in the ACC quarterfinals before falling to Wake Forest 4-0. The Fighting Irish got lucky, extending their season to the NCAA tournament, defeating Western Michigan 4-1 in the first round before falling to No. 15 Michigan 4-0 in the second round. Beyond the team tournament, Alex Lebedev earned a spot in the NCAA singles championships, falling early to No. 17 Henry Patten of UNC-Asheville in three sets.

Live stats will be available from Notre Dame and a live stream will be available if the match is moved indoors.