SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sunday presented the University of Notre Dame’s men’s tennis team with their last two matches at home for the spring 2023 season as they hosted Boston College and Butler. Before the first serve, the team recognized the five departing graduates from the program with highlights and an ovation from the fans. Seniors Matthew Che, Connor Fu, Matthew Halpin and Braeden Ho along with graduate student Addy Vashistha wrapped up their home careers for the Irish with two wins at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
In the opening act of senior day play, the Notre Dame men’s tennis team scored a conference victory with a 6-1 win over Boston College. In doubles, the Irish duo of Sebastian Dominko and Fu defeated the #66 ranked team in the country 6-4. That setup the #2 team of Halpin and Jean-Marc Malkowski to clinch the doubles point with a 7-6(2) win in a match that saw zero breaks of serve throughout the set.
First off the court in singles was Yu Zhang who won at #6 singles with a pair of 6-1 sets. Moments later, Vashistha won in a shortened match as his opponent retired due to injury with the Irish graduate student up a set already. Malkowski would get to secure the fourth point and the team victory as he won 6-1, 6-4 at the #5 position. Fu, playing at #4, would add to the tally with a 6-2, 6-3 win before Dominko tacked on the final win of the early afternoon as he took out the top Eagle in a 3rd set match tiebreak for the 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(7) win.
After a quick lunch and a little rest, the Irish would return to the courts to take on the Butler Bulldogs. Playing a spot above higher than usual, Evan Lee and Yu Zhang ripped off a 6-2 win at #2 doubles to set the tone in doubles. Brian Bilsey and Noah Becker followed up with a 6-3 win at #3 and secure the point.
In singles, the Irish were led by a trio of sophomores and the first two points on the board went the way of Notre Dame. Yu Zhang put a dominating 6-0, 6-1 match on the board at the #4 position and Jamie Corsillo quickly followed with a 6-2, 6-3 win at the #5 spot to put the Irish within one of the victory. After the next two points went to the Bulldogs, to cut the lead to 3-2. But the remaining sophomore on the court, Brian Bilsey came through with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win to clinch the victory and wrap up the home season.
Up Next:
The Notre Dame men will once again hit the road for a pair of road ACC matches. First up on Friday, April 7th will be a 5 p.m. match against the #55 ranked Clemson…