SOUTH BEND, Ind. – With more conference play on the schedule for the weekend, the University of Notre Dame men’s tennis team began the weekend and their spring break with a 4-3 win over Virginia Tech Friday night.
The Fighting Irish came out well in doubles on all three courts and got early leads to help get going. Sebastian Dominko and Connor Fu, ranked #40 in the country this week, took out the top Virginia Tech duo who came in ranked #13 by a 6-3 score. The #3 doubles team of Evan Lee and Yu Zhang would win a 6-4 set to clinch the doubles point. The second doubles team was serving for the match at 5-4 up when it would be abandoned.
In singles, Matt Che would put up a very quick point in favor of the Irish with a 6-1, 6-2 win at #3 singles. Virginia Tech would get on the board with a win over Zhang at #6 singles to cut the lead in half. But Dominko would get another ranked win as he took out the top singles player for the Hokies who is #70 in the country.
With Notre Dame leading 3-1, they would need just one of the remaining three matches to seal a victory. All three courts would go the distance and need a third set to determine individual winners. After Fu fell at #4 singles, graduate student Addy Vashistha would come back from a set down to win 6-3 in the third and clinch the win. The dead rubber match would go to Virginia Tech but Jean-Marc Malkowski would push his opponent in a 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 loss.
Up Next:
The Irish will host defending national champion and #13 ranked Virginia on Sunday at 11:30am at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Cavaliers come to South Bend with a 10-4 record, most recently tallying a win over Louisville 4-2 on Friday night. This is will be the last home match before a stretch of conference opponents on the road for Notre Dame.
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#47 Notre Dame – #51 Virginia Tech
Doubles
- #40 Dominko/Fu(ND) def. #13 Chrysostom/Fishback(VT) 6-3
- Che/Malkowski(ND) vs. Ariza/Orso(VT) 5-4 DNF
- Lee/Zhang(ND) def. Thompson/Harper 6-4
Order of Finish(1, 3)
Singles
- #43 Dominko(ND) def. #70 Fishback(VT) 6-4, 7-5
- Ariza(VT) def. Malkowski(ND) 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-4
- Che(ND) def. Goncalves(VT) 6-1, 6-3
- Sculley(VT) def. Fu(ND) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
- Vashistha(ND) def. Chrysostom(VT) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Maia(VT)def. Zhang(ND) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish(3, 6, 1, 4, 5, 2)