After going 1-2 in a packed weekend, the Notre Dame men's tennis team will stay busy with another upcoming trio of matches in South Bend. They continue conference play with a Friday matchup against No. 5 Virginia, the front end of their Sunday doubleheader against No. 73 Virginia Tech and finishing the weekend with Southern Indiana on Sunday evening. A part of the daunting Atlantic Coast Conference, the Irish have started conference play 0-8. However, they pushed No. 1 Wake Forest and No. 6 NC State to the brink last weekend in matches that both eclipsed three hours, all before finishing on a high note with a 7-0 sweep of St. Bonaventure. The win got the Irish back on track, snapping the eight-match losing skid. The competition does not get any easier with Virginia and Virginia Tech, though, meaning Notre Dame will need its best tennis to earn their first conference win.
Sebastian Dominko was named the ACC Player of the Week on Tuesday, for the third time in his career. After taking down the 6th and 26th-ranked players in the nation from Wake Forest and NC State, respectively, at No. 1 singles over the weekend, the junior from Maribor, Slovenia improved to 16-2 in singles this spring. He's won nine matches in a row, dropping only a single set during that span, and has started 7-0 against ACC opponents. Teaming up at No. 1 doubles with sophomore Chase Thompson, he has posted a 16-3 doubles record this season, including wins in four of his last five matches. The pairing defeated 40th-ranked Charlie Robertson/DK Suresh Ekambaram from No. 1 Wake Forest, 6-3 on Friday. The freshman pairing of Peter Nad, former ACC Freshman of the Year, and Luis Llorens Saracho complimented the top court well, managing a 3-0 record over the weekend. After a hard-fought loss against Wake Forest, senior Yu Zhang bounced back with straight-sets victories against NC State and St. Bonaventure. Sophomore Kyran Magimay also enters the weekend with positive momentum after an impressive comeback win against NC State and a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over St. Bonaventure.
Virginia
The Cavaliers under head coach Andres Pedroso posted a 25-6 record in 2024 en route to a regular season ACC title and NCAA Quarterfinal appearance. They entered the spring season having won 50 straight conference matches, a streak dating back to January 18, 2020. After losing five seniors from last year's squad, they haven't been as dominant in ACC play this season, sitting at 4-4 with losses to No. 13 Duke, No. 6 NC State, No. 1 Wake Forest and No. 10 California dating back to Feb. 28. Nonetheless, they have reloaded with 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year Dylan Dietrich, junior Måns Dahlberg and graduate student James Hopper. They have also received contributions from their five freshman additions, particularly Keegan Rice and Rafael Jódar. Rice features alongside Hopper on Virginia's No. 28-ranked doubles pairing and has contributed in the middle of the singles lineup where he holds a 14-8 record. Jódar has been a revelation for the Cavaliers, already emerging as the team's best player on the No. 1 singles court, where he holds a 10-0 record and 7-0 mark in conference play. The freshman phenom ranks 10th in the nation for singles and also boasts an 8-4 record across multiple doubles pairings, his partnership with Hopper ranking 70th in the nation. He will prove to be one of Dominko's toughest tests of the season on Friday. Despite the talent turnover, Virginia still sits at No. 5 in the nation with a 12-6 record overall. After their Friday loss against Cal, they finished last weekend with a 4-2 victory against No. 9 Stanford.
Virginia Tech
Head Jim Thompson's Hokies went 10-11 last season, posting a 3-9 mark in the ACC before their season ended with a 4-1 defeat in the ACC Tournament Second Round to Florida State. They have struggled out of the gate in 2025 conference play, their only win coming against Boston College on March 16. They have lost their other seven ACC matches, six of which by sweeps. After graduating four seniors from last year's squad, including No. 1 singles and doubles player Ryan Fishback, Virginia Tech has leaned on several incoming freshmen to fill the gaps in the lineup. Eyal Shumilov, Victor Kimpel and Patrik Jurina have all contributed across the singles lineup, recording 7-5, 8-6 and 4-6 records, respectively. Kimpel and Shumilov have also joined various teammates on the doubles courts, both going 5-3 across multiple partnerships. Seniors Matt Harper and Alberto Orso have led Virginia Tech's doubles unit, ranking 65th in the country as a pairing. Maxime St. Hilaire and Ilyas Fahim have shared the No. 1 singles court, with St. Hilaire competing on the top court during last weekend's pair of home matches against No. 9 Stanford and No. 14 California. The Hokies dropped both and enter the upcoming weekend having lost seven of their last eight matches. They will make a trip to Kentucky to face Louisville before heading to South Bend for Sunday's clash with the Irish.
Southern Indiana
Head coach Chris Crawford enters his 15th season at the helm for Southern Indiana. His squad posted a disappointing 5-14 overall record while going 0-5 in the Horizon League in 2024. However, the Eagles are already off to a stronger start in 2025, as their 4-7 record puts them well on pace to improve on last year's total. They are also coming off their first conference win of the season, a 4-3 victory over Eastern Illinois on Wednesday. Junior standout Mathys Bove returns to the squad after posting a team-best singles record of 12-5 last season, and takes the No. 1 court for Southern Indiana. The senior is coming off a straight-sets win against his Eastern Illinois opponent. Junior Axel Sabourin is joined by freshman Jy Hibbert on the top doubles court for the Eagles, and both players contribute throughout the singles lineup. Their Sunday matchup with Notre Dame will be their third of four power conference tests on the schedule, having already been swept by Vanderbilt and Louisville in the first two. They will see an Irish team on the second leg of a Sunday doubleheader.
Notre Dame will take to the courts at Eck Tennis Pavilion on Friday at 5 p.m. to face Virginia before taking on Virginia Tech on Sunday at noon and Southern Indiana a few hours later at 4 p.m.
