Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 5, 2018 47 ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE N otre Dame tennis star Alex Leb- edev needed about 20 seconds of internal contemplation to answer a blunt inquiry if he could beat wom- en's tennis legend Serena Williams in a best-of-three-set match. "Hmmm, that's a tough one," he said. "If I say 'yes' I'm going to get flak over it. If I say 'no' I'm going to get flak for it … so I'm going to take the confident route and say, 'yes,' I would eke it out. But I would have to be at my very best and make no mistakes. She's amazing." It's unlikely Lebedev will ever get his chance to prove his prediction — un- less perhaps Serena sees this — but in the meantime, there is plenty of power- ful competition ahead for the second- year No. 1 singles player for the Irish. By reaching the quarterfinals of the ITA Men's All-American Champion- ships in October in Tulsa, Okla., Leb- edev qualified for the ITA National Fall Championships from Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz. Lebedev will be joined in Surprise by Irish doubles pair Richard Cia- marra and Tristan McCormick. Beyond this tournament, Lebedev said his higher goals stretch into the spring season when stakes rise and NCAA championships are won. An overlap of many sanctioning bodies that oversee dozens of com- petition levels — along with a unique marriage between amateur and pro- fessional play — make college tennis difficult for even its players to explain. "The rules always change," Leb- edev said with laugh. In a nutshell, college tennis players are able to balance amateur status with professional competition, to a point. These student-athletes are allowed to win up to $20,000 professionally per season. The first $10,000 is designated as "expense money." The next $10,000 is considered personal prize money. Lebedev has never reached the $10,000 "expense money" threshold, but he hopes that will change follow- ing the 2019 spring season at Notre Dame. His plan is to play profession- ally through the summer and fall of 2019 before returning to school in the spring of 2020 to complete his degree and compete in his final college sea- son. This is the preferred career path among the top players in college tennis — compete collegiately in the spring, then play pro in the summer and fall. "In a sense, it's the best of both worlds," Lebedev explained. "You get the competition at the top of the college game, and you get that professional experience for when you do graduate." A desire to compete internationally, driven by a lack of qualified competi- tion back home in Long Island, N.Y., caused Lebedev to complete his final two years of high school online and on the road. "I was getting a false sense of con- fidence with my game because I was seeing the same players all the time," he said. "I wasn't being challenged as I should've been." Those challenges come fast and hard now. Lebedev is currently ranked around No. 1,200 in the world. "I want to get up to about the No. 500 or 600 player," he said, "and really give myself the platform for when I graduate to start from that ranking and not have to work my way up from square one." ✦ Irish Roundup CROSS COUNTRY When Notre Dame competed in the Pre-Nationals Oct. 13 in Madison, Wis., the No. 18 women placed fourth out of 34 teams with three top-20 individual finishers, while the No. 15 men finished fifth out of 34 squads on the strength of sophomore Yared Nuguse's 13th-place effort. Both squads return to action in the ACC Championships Oct. 26 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. MEN'S GOLF The Irish wrapped up their fall schedule Oct. 16 with an eighth-place showing in the Quail Valley Col- legiate Oct. 14-16 in Vero Beach, Fla., finishing with a 2-over-par 866. Senior Miguel Delgado earned his first top-10 finish of the season and seventh of his career with a 5-under 211 to tie for seventh. HOCKEY (3-0-1, 0-0-0 BIG TEN) After opening the season with a 6-6 tie at Mercyhurst Oct. 12, No. 1 Notre Dame has ripped off three straight wins. The Irish topped Providence 3-0 Oct. 13 in Erie, Pa., and then notched 4-1 and 8-2 victories at Nebraska-Omaha Oct. 19-20. The Irish hosted No. 2 Minnesota Duluth for a two-game set Oct. 26-27, in a rematch of last year's national championship game won by the Bulldogs. MEN'S SOCCER (8-5-2, 3-3-1 ACC) The No. 23 Irish dropped a 3-2 decision at Duke Oct. 12, but rebounded to defeat Michigan 2-1 in Ann Arbor Oct. 16. Notre Dame suffered a 5-2 home loss to Virginia Tech Oct. 19 and then battled to a 0-0 draw in two overtimes at No. 3 Virginia Oct. 23. The Irish close out the regular season at Pittsburgh Oct. 27 and the ACC Tournament begins Oct. 31. WOMEN'S SOCCER (8-10, 4-6 ACC) Notre Dame sandwiched a 2-1 loss at Virginia Tech Oct. 18 with a 5-1 victory at Syracuse Oct. 13 and a 2-0 win at Pittsburgh Oct. 21. The season ended with a 2-0 home loss to No. 5 Duke Oct. 25. VOLLEYBALL (12-8, 6-4 ACC) The Irish posted a 3-0 triumph at home versus Virginia Tech Oct. 14, fell 3-0 at Pittsburgh Oct. 19 and then bounced back to win 3-1 at Virginia Oct. 21. Notre Dame has eight matches left in the regular season — six of which will be played in South Bend, beginning with Syracuse Oct. 26 and Boston College Oct. 28. — David McKinney Patient Progress Keying Alex Lebedev's Success Lebedev has qualified for the ITA Men's All- American Championships Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA