The Irish men’s tennis team had a busy weekend with ACC matchups against No. 1 Wake Forest on Friday and No. 5 NC State on Sunday morning. After hard-fought losses in both contests, they wrapped up with a 7-0 sweep of St. Bonaventure later on Sunday in their third match. Despite remaining winless in conference play at 0-8, the victory over the Bonnies kept the Irish above .500 for the season at 11-10 overall.
Wake Forest
The 24-0 Demon Deacons entered Friday having yet to lose a doubles point in the 2025 season. That would change at the Eck Tennis Pavilion in South Bend, however, as the No. 1 pairing of junior Sebastian Dominko and sophomore Chase Thompson defeated the No. 40-ranked team in the country 6-3, setting up freshman combo of Peter Nad and Luis Llorens to secure the point with their 6-4 victory on Court No. 3. Dominko continued his dominance on the top singles court with his highest-profile win of the season. After grinding out a win in the first-set tiebreaker where he saved a pair of set points, the Slovenian lefty ran away with a 6-2 victory in set two en route to a 2-0 Irish lead. This would be the last Irish point, however, as the Demon Deacons rattled off four singles wins in a row to improve their unblemished record. They first got on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4 over Nad. No. 67 singles player Ioannis Xilas defeated senior Yu Zhang in straights in the No. 2 competition. Thompson, senior Jameson Corsillo and sophomore Kyran Magimay all battled back after first-set losses, but Magimay and Thompson surrendered set three, leaving Corsillo unfinished trailing 2-5 in his deciding set. The match lasted over three hours before Wake Forest emerged with the 4-2 victory.
NC State
Sunday began with another tightly contested ACC battle that eclipsed the three-hour mark. The Wolfpack made the trip to South Bend in top form, having won eight matches in a row including four straight sweeps of ACC opponents. Their 4-3 win over the Irish was anything but straightforward, though. In the doubles competition, Dominko and Thompson fell 6-2 at No. 1 before Nad and Llorens won 7-6 (2) on Court No. 3 in a tiebreak to keep the point alive. All eyes turned to the No. 2 matchup of Corsillo and Zhang and the No. 23-ranked pairing of Luca Staeheli and Jules Leroux, where the Notre Dame duo ultimately fell just short in a 7-6 (3) loss that also required a tiebreaker. Singles went back and forth, as Fons Van Sambeek took a comfortable straight-sets victory over Nad at No. 4 to extend the Wolfpack lead. Dominko delivered yet again at No. 1 to get the Irish on the board, besting another ranked opponent in No. 26 Braden Shick. His opening-game break, which would prove to be the only by either player all match, powered a 6-4 first-set victory before he swept the second-set tiebreak without dropping a single point. No. 23 Martin Borisiouk outlasted Thompson on Court No. 2 to put the Wolfpack within one of team victory, but Zhang extended the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. After surrendering the first set 1-6, Magimay battled back with 6-3, 7-5 wins in sets two and three at No. 6, tying the team score at 3-3. That left the match on the racket of Llorens on court five. However, after trading two 6-4 sets, he ultimately fell short in the third against his opponent Leroux, who had entered the day having lost only one match on the season.
St. Bonaventure
The Irish would return to the courts later that Sunday to take on the Bonnies, looking to end the weekend on a positive note. Facing an undermanned St. Bonaventure squad, who had to default No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles with only five healthy players, Notre Dame did just that, earning a comfortable 7-0 sweep. Head coach Ryan Sachire tinkered with some different lineup combinations, as senior Brian Bilsey and sophomore Jayanth Devaiah got an opportunity at No. 2 doubles, one they capitalized on with a resounding 6-1 win. Dominko reunited with former partner junior Noah Becker to win 6-1 only moments later. The Irish continued their momentum heading into singles play, taking quick straight-set victories on every court. Becker led the way at No. 5, winning 6-0, 6-0 without dropping a game. Zhang gave Dominko a rest at No. 1, winning his second singles match of the day by a score of 6-0, 6-2, and Bilsey picked up the 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4. Magimay would get his second win of the day with a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3 before Nad rounded out the sweep win a 6-2, 6-0 win on Court No. 2.
The Irish will stay in South Bend as they prepare for another packed weekend. It begins with a tough ACC test against No. 6 Virginia on Friday at 5 p.m. before their Sunday doubleheader with conference foe Virginia Tech at noon and Southern Indiana later in the day at 4 p.m.
