ROME, Ga. – Junior Sebastian Dominko had a very strong showing this week winning the ITA Conference Masters singles title without dropping a set and being runner up in doubles alongside freshman Peter Nad. The inaugural ITA Conference Masters was held in Rome, Georgia this week as the final qualifying event for the NCAA individual championships. One player from each of the division I conferences was selected to participate.
Dominko entered the week as the representative for the Atlantic Coast Conference and the overall #1 seed in the singles draw at the ITA Conference Masters. He would receive a bye in the opening round before taking on the selection for the Big Ten Conference, Niels Hoffman of Southern California. Dominko would take the opening round by a 6-3, 6-4 score to advance where he would face the Patriot League player selection, Amar Tahirovic. The Irish junior took care of business to win 6-3, 6-2 and not only advance to the semifinals of the event but he also clinched a birth into the NCAA Individual Singles Championships.
In the semifinals, he would face the top player from the Georgia lineup and the SEC selection, Thomas Paulsell, who came into the fall ranked #14 in college tennis. Dominko would win the first set 6-4 before running away with the second set 6-2 and find himself in the championship match. In the title match, he would face Tiago Silva of Pacific and the West Coast Conference. On a crisp and overcast Sunday morning, Dominko would take the first set 6-3 for the third time in the tournament and then seal the title with a 6-4 second set win.
Dominko was pulling double duty this week as he and teammate Peter Nad were the representatives for the ACC in the doubles tournament. The duo were the #2 overall seeds and received bye before running through teams from Portland, UNC Wilmington and UNC Charlotte en route to the finals. But the run would end in the championship at the hands of the #1 ranked team in the country from Mississippi State in two tight sets, 7-5, 7-6(4). By virtue of making the finals though, the duo qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championships.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be held this fall in Waco, Texas from November 19th-24th. Dominko has now qualified for both singles and doubles every year in college so far, marking this the 5th and 6th appearances in the NCAA individual tournament. Peter Nad, in his first semester in college, will make his first postseason appearance alongside…