SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s tennis program cleaned up on Tuesday, claiming half of the ITA Midwest Regional awards. The Fighting Irish took home four honors, which included:
Midwest Regional Award Winners
- ITA/Dunlop Coach of the Year: Ryan Sachire, Notre Dame
- ITA Assistant Coach of the Year: Alex Kasarov, Notre Dame
- ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship: Sebastian Dominko, Notre Dame
- ITA Senior Player of the Year: Sebastian Dominko, Notre Dame
Three-time All-American Sebastian Dominko becomes the first player to win the Midwest Senior Player of the Year award since Stephen Bass in 2007. The new graduate certainly left his mark on the program over an illustrious four-year career in South Bend. Below are just a few of his top highlights:
- Third Irish player all-time to earn four berths to the NCAA Singles Championships
- First seven-time NCAA Individual Championship qualifier in the history of Notre Dame tennis (singles & doubles)
- First Irish player to earn All-ACC honors all four years in either singles or doubles
- The 2025 ACC Player of the Year
- An 85-29 career singles record
- His 59 wins in the No. 1 singles position rank fourth all-time
- A 71-33 career doubles record
- His 49 wins at No. 1 doubles rank first all-time
To top it all off, for Dominko, the Slovenian also won the ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. This long-running award honors a DI men’s student athlete who displays sportsmanship, character, excellent academics, and has had outstanding playing accomplishments. The award was established in 1969 in memory of Rafael Osuna.
In addition, Notre Dame swept the two coaching honors of the Midwest Region. Head Coach Ryan Sachire won his first ITA/Dunlop Coach of the Year award. Plus, first-year assistant coach Alex Kasarov won the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Together, the duo guided the Blue & Gold to its first 20-win regular season since 2007, ultimately finishing with a 21-8 record. Notre Dame also accomplished its best ACC regular-season finish (third), while reaching its second-ever ACC Tournament semifinal.
They went on to qualify for their first NCAA Tournament since 2022, marking Coach Sachire’s seventh all-time NCAA appearance.
Furthermore, the Irish finished with an ITA Midwest ranking of No. 4 and a national ranking of No. 24. The Irish finished the season ranked in the top-25 for 12 consecutive weeks.
– ND –