Notre Dame men’s tennis looked to close out a series of away duals this weekend, taking on Virginia Tech and No. 4 Virginia. On the back of a five-dual win streak, Irish fans were cautiously optimistic heading into Friday. However, Notre Dame came up short, losing 1-4 to a dominant Virginia team led by star player Dylan Dietrich. It replicated the same score on Sunday, bowing out 1-4 against a floundering Virginia Tech. The disappointing results were eerily reminiscent of Notre Dame’s last pair of losses against Wake Forest and NC State, both occurring on an away trip to North Carolina.
Virginia
Things could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Irish Friday. Virginia blitzed into the lead, courtesy of freshman Andrés Santamarta Roig and sophomore Jangjun Kim, who crushed Notre Dame duo of freshman Nicholas Patrick and junior Evan Lee 6-0. Stiles Brockett and Keegan Rice clinched the doubles point for the Cavaliers, upsetting No. 47-ranked Luis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad 7-5 in an all-sophomore clash.
Virginia continued its hot start in singles play, with No. 14-ranked Keegan Rice defeating No. 72-ranked grad student Perry Gregg 6-3, 6-3. The Irish finally got on the board, thanks to Peter Nad’s 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 comeback win over Jangjun Kim. Virginia senior Douglas Yaffa struck back quickly, however, battling past Llorens Saracho 6-3, 0-6, 6-1. No. 2-ranked junior Dylan Dietrich secured the duel for Virginia with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over No. 15-ranked senior Sebastian Dominko. The match was as good as advertised, with both players flaunting their powerful serves and massive baseline presence. After splitting the first two sets, Dietrich broke early in the third, courtesy of consecutive Dominko double-faults, and didn’t look back.
Virginia Tech
Despite the short drive from Charlottesville to Blacksburg, a day’s rest must not have been enough for Notre Dame, which fell to a struggling Virginia Tech team in the midst of a six-dual losing streak. Notre Dame started off strong in doubles, with senior Noah Becker and Nicholas Patrick breezing past freshman Drew Fishback and grad student Frank Thompson 6-3. Virginia Tech duo junior Ilyas Fahim and sophomore Patrik Jurina struck back, defeating Dominko and Gregg 6-4. Sophomores Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumilov snatched the doubles point for the Hokies, battling past Llorens Saracho and Nad 7-5.
Shumilov went right back to work in singles, flying past Notre Dame sopohomore Giuseppe Cerasuolo 6-0, 6-4. Nad pulled one back against Fishback, prevailing again in three sets, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4. Virginia Tech senior Julian Lozano extended the Hokie lead, gutting out a 6-4, 7-6(7) win over junior Kyran Magimay. Ilyas Fahim put the cherry on top for Virginia Tech, upsetting Dominko in a massive comeback, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.
While the weekend didn’t yield what the Irish desired, it may have been exactly what the team needed — a reminder of what it will face come postseason. Doubles play improved between the two duals, and Peter Nad cemented himself as a strong anchor in the singles lineup, continuing his breakout season.
Notre Dame is now 19-6 and returns to South Bend for a rematch against Louisville on Saturday, before heading to Cary, N.C., for the 2026 ACC Tournament. The Irish have the pedigree for multiple deep runs in the season-ending tournaments, but if the team wishes to leave a mark, it must be prepared to battle tough competition on consecutive days.
