Following a grueling road trip, which included a 4-0 loss to No. 4 Wake Forest and a heartbreaking 4-3 collapse against No. 20-ranked NC State, the Notre Dame men’s team traveled back to South Bend for a three-dual weekend. It seems the tight schedule only motivated the Irish, who defeated perennial NCAA Championship contenders Stanford 4-2 on Friday before sweeping Berkeley and Marist in Sunday’s double-header. Notre Dame is now 17-4 and well on its way to causing some damage at the end-of-year championships.
The showdown with Stanford started off on a high note, with No. 53-ranked sophomore pair Luis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad taking down No. 6-ranked Stanford duo of sophomore Alex Razeghi and graduate student Alex Chang. The upset was followed by a 6-3 win for Notre Dame senior Sebastian Dominko and graduate student Perry Gregg over senior Samir Banerjee and freshman Jagger Leach. The convincing doubles performances served as a catalyst for the dominance shown throughout the weekend.
On the singles side, Stanford junior Nico Godsick tied things up, defeating fellow junior Kyran Magimay 6-3, 6-2. Razeghi gave Stanford the lead, beating sophomore Giuseppe Cerasuolo 7-5, 6-1. Nad outdueled junior Hudson Rivera in a tight match, 7-6(3), 6-3, and Llorens Saracho restored the Irish lead in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Leach. Gregg once again showed his cool under pressure, clinching the dual for Notre Dame with a 7-5, 7-6(3) victory over Chang.
Celebrations were short-lived, as the Irish returned to court Sunday morning to face a strong Berkeley squad. Llorens Saracho and Nad continued their strong play, defeating junior Alex Aney and senior Tiago Silva 6-4. Gregg and Dominko secured the team’s doubles point with a 6-4 win against Berkeley junior Timofey Stepanov and sophomore Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski.
Cerasuolo kicked off the singles matchplay with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Silva. Gregg followed suit with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Stepanov, and Dominko put the dual to rest in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over Lechno-Wasiutynski.
A few hours later, freshman Nicholas Patrick and junior Evan Lee gave Notre Dame the lead against Marist, beating graduate students Jose Catala and Danté Despontin 6-1. Llorens Saracho and Nad completed their weekend sweep and coasted to a 6-3 win over senior Nick Suhanitski and junior Thomas Bevan.
In singles play, Patrick defeated Bevan 6-3, 6-0, followed shortly by Gregg, who defeated Catala 6-1, 6-4. Irish junior Chase Thompson took the winning match for the Irish, beating sophomore Ian Layton 6-1, 6-4. Cerasuolo took out Marist freshman Alejandro Abella Fernandez 6-0, 7-5, and Irish freshman Nolan Balthazor grinded out a 6-4, 6-4 win over sophomore Gregor Heinemann. Lee ensured a sweep for the Irish, beating Anirudh Nallaparaju in a nail-biter, 7-6(1), 6-3.
Overall, the weekend was a resounding success for Notre Dame. Last season, the team struggled to dig itself out of deficits and also lost numerous ACC duals by coming up short in key moments. The close loss against NC State the week prior was cause for some concern, but the team quelled those worries with the comeback win over a dangerous Stanford squad. With two singles heavyweights in Dominko and Gregg, a strong No. 1 doubles in Nad and Llorens Saracho, and a deep lineup across the board, the Irish are looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the country going into postseason play.
Notre Dame heads to Dallas Friday to take on SMU. Look out for a thrilling match between No. 13-ranked Dominko and SMU’s Trevor Svajda, who is currently the No. 1 singles player in the nation. Matchplay begins at 6 p.m. EST.
