CARY, N.C. – Two weeks ago, the Notre Dame men’s tennis team lost a 4-2 heartbreaker at Miami in a match that lasted 3 hour 41 minutes. Last night, the two teams lined up again in the first round of the ACC tournament but this time the Irish came out on top of an instant classic winning 4-3 to advance to the second round.
Doubles started with identical matchups at all three positions. Seniors Jamie Corsillo and Yu Zhang, who clinched the doubles point last time the teams met, were first off the court with a 6-2 win at #2. Sebastian Dominko and Chase Thompson were looking to avenge their earlier loss and were looking good after saving match point. But freshman duo Peter Nad and Luis Llorens won at #3 to clinch the point leaving the #1 match unfinished at 5-5.
In singles, 5 of the 6 matchups were repeats of the earlier dual and 4 of those matches would come out with a different individual result. Zhang, who lost in a a split set affair at #2 last time, put on a spectacular performance, dismantling his opponent 6-2, 6-3 for a quick point in favor of Notre Dame. Miami then won at #5 singles and despite Thompson saving 7 match points in the second set at #3, the Hurricanes evened the match with a 6-3, 7-6(11) win.
Dominko, ranked #19 this week, avenged a rough loss previously to the #21 player in the country with 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win at the top position in lineup to put the Irish back on top 3-2 overall. Kyran Magimay played two very long sets but could not repeat his winning performance from two weeks ago and fell on the #6 singles court 7-5, 7-6(4).
With the sun long gone and temperatures dropping throughout the evening, all eyes were on the only different matchup as senior Jamie Corsillo was back in the lineup at #4. Early on, he had built a 4-1 lead in the first set before his opponent rattled off 5 straight games to take the opening set. The veteran from Boca Raton would respond immediately with a 5 game run of his own to take the second set lead and would square things up winning the second frame 6-1.
The Miami lefty jumped out in front in the final set by a 4-1 score by the time all other matches had finished. Corsillo began to claw his way back through grit and determination that carried him to a 5-4 lead. A hiccup while serving for the set made it 5-5 but the senior once again broke to have another chance to serve out the match. This time, having a second match point opportunity at deuce, Corsillo stepped to the line and delivered a first serve followed by a crushing backhand to the ad corner that drove past his opponent for the win. After 3 hours 25 minutes, the celebration was one as the team stormed the court and celebrated an electric victory under the lights of the Cary Tennis Park.
Up Next:
The men will take on 7th-seeded Duke tonight at 6pm in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Duke comes in ranked #19 in the country and when the teams met in the regular season in South Bend, the visitors came out on top by a 4-1 score. Dominko took down the top Blue Devil in the first meeting.
Box Score
#65 Notre Dame 4 #37 Miami 3
Doubles
#22 Dominko/Thompson(ND) vs. #49 Katz/Prat(MIA) 5-5 DNF
Corsillo/Zhang(ND) def. Dal Boni/Sedaoui(MIA) 6-2
Nad/Llorens(ND) def. Serra Sanchez/Garot(MIA) 6-3
Order of Finish(2, 3)
Singles
#19 Dominko(ND) def. #21 Katz(MIA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Zhang(ND) def. Prat(MIA) 6-2, 6-3
Serra Sanchez(MIA) def. Thompson(ND) 6-3, 7-6(11)
Corsillo(ND) def. Sadaoui(MIA) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
Dal Boni(MIA) def. Nad(ND) 6-4, 6-4
Garot(MIA) def. Magimay(ND) 7-5, 7-6(4)
Order of Finish (2, 5, 3, 1, 6, 4)