URBANA, Ill. – The Notre Dame men’s tennis team fell 4-1 to Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, which brought an end to their 2026 season. It was tough first round draw which featured the No. 23 team in the country versus No. 24. The Fighting Irish (21-8) won the doubles point, but the Commodores (18-12) found momentum in singles play.
Despite the early exit from the NCAA Tournament, one cannot discredit the season the Irish have put together.
- First 20 win regular-season since 2007
- Best conference finish (third place) and record (9-4) since joining the ACC ahead of the 2013-14 season
- Second ACC Tournament semifinal appearance
- ranked in the top-25 for 10 consecutive weeks.
- Coach Sachire’s seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the helm of the program, and first since 2022
When the early lead could have gone either way, the Fighting Irish gained the advantage by claiming the doubles point. Vanderbilt won on court one, but Lee & Thompson dominated, 6-2, on court three. It was then down to No. 79 Llorens Saracho and Nad on court two vs. Gomez & Markowitz.
Llorens Saracho/Nad were up 4-2 until Vandy rallied to tie it at 5-all. However, the Irish duo dug deep and won the next two games; the biggest point being 40-all up 6-5.
Next, Vanderbilt bounced back and claimed their first lead of the match after winning in straight sets on courts four and six.
Now down 2-1, all four of the remaining courts went into decisive third sets:
- Court 1: Dominko vs. Gomez – 7-6, 3-6, 1-0
- Court 2: Gregg vs. Roh – 6-2, 3-6, 2-3
- Court 3: Nad vs. Panarin – 4-6, 7-6, 0-0
- Court 5: Llorens Saracho vs. Satterfield – 6-3, 2-6, 2-3
Yet, the Irish couldn’t stymie the Vandy tide.
No. 69 Perry Gregg was battling No. 97 Roh on court two, tied 3-3 in the third; however, Roh surged ahead for the 6-3 victory, putting Vandy on the cusp of victory. The Commodores then ended ND’s season by clinching on court six. With the match tied at 5-all, Satterfield pushed ahead over Llorens Saracho, 7-5.
#23 Notre Dame (21-8) – 1 | #24 Vanderbilt (18-12) – 4
DOUBLES – 3, 1, 2
1. #13 Cox/Roh (VANDY) def. #50 Dominko/Gregg (ND), 6-3
2. #79 Llorens Saracho/Nad (ND) def. Gomez/Markowitz (VANDY), 7-5
3. Lee/Thompson (ND) def. Panarin/Satterfield (VANDY), 6-2
SINGLES – 4, 6, 2, 5
1. #20 Sebastian Dominko (ND) vs. #72 Pablo Martinez Gomez (VANDY), 7-6(7), 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
2. #97 Hoyoung Roh (VANDY) def. #69 Perry Gregg (ND), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Peter Nad (ND) vs. Danil Panarin (VANDY), 4-6, 7-6(4), 4-4, unfinished
4. Nathan Cox (VANDY) def. Kyran Magimay (ND), 6-4, 6-3
5. Jack Satterfield (VANDY) def. Luis Llorens Saracho (ND), 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Donghyun Hwang (VANDY) def. Chase Thompson (ND), 6-2, 6-4
– ND –