ND SPORTS
BY JORDAN WELLS
A
fter finishing 2014 with one of the
best single-season performances
in school history, senior tennis player
Quentin Monaghan participated in the
exclusive second annual American Col-
lege Invitational at the USTA Billie Jean
King Tennis Center Sept. 10 in Flush-
ing, N.Y.
Last year, Monaghan advanced to
the semifinals of the NCAA Singles
Championship — the first player in
school history to achieve that feat —
and picked up first-team All-ACC
honors while finishing 33-7 overall
in singles matches for the year. Those
achievements enabled him to land an
invitation to play in the tournament,
with the field comprised of only eight
collegiate players, including the top
two players in the ATP/WTA rankings
and top five players in the year-end ITA
singles rankings.
The winner of the tournament re-
ceived a wild card bid into the 2016 U.S.
Open.
"It's an absolute honor to be consid-
ered one of those players," Monaghan
told UND.com. "Playing at the U.S.
Open site is just so special. It's a place
that, living in New Jersey [growing up],
I've gone since I was 8 or 9 years old ev-
ery year. It's really fun and probably the
best place you could play tennis at, so
the environment is pretty good."
The No. 7-ranked Irish senior matched
up with No. 3-ranked Mackenzie Mc-
Donald of UCLA in the first round, fall-
ing 6-1, 6-4 in straight sets to exit the
tournament early. Still, the opportunity
just to participate in such an exclu-
sive event is noteworthy in itself, and
Monaghan was able to use it as a learn-
ing experience.
"It was a tough match; he's a good
player," Monaghan said. "The first set
was a lot of nerves and I didn't serve
very well. I was a little too defensive
and he's a pretty aggressive player, so
I didn't give myself too many chances.
Quentin Monaghan Earns
Unique Opportunity
Monaghan, a senior who posted a 33-7 singles
record while advancing to the semifinals of the
NCAA Singles Championship last season, competed
in the American College Invitational Sept. 10 in
Flushing, N.Y.
PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS
