Blue and Gold Illustrated

Sept. 21, 2015 Issue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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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

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