SOUTH BEND, Ind. – As the University of Notre Dame’s 49th-ranked men’s tennis team enters their spring break week from classes, the Fighting Irish began with a 4-0 win over #50 Northwestern Friday night inside the Eck Tennis Pavilion.
The doubles point would be a split decision but the home team would prevail to take the early lead. Sebastian Dominko and Jean-Marc Malkowski, who came into this weekend ranked #11 in the country, raced to a 6-1 win at #1 doubles. Northwestern responded winning the #3 position so all eyes turned to the #2 doubles team of Nil Giraldez and Chase Thompson. A back and forth set saw the battle extend late into the match but the Irish duo broke serve to win the match 7-5. This is the fourth win for this pairing in the last two weeks and they are 4-0 on the season together.
In singles, #34 ranked Dominko put up a quick point on the scoreboard at the top position with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win. Malkowski started slowly and found himself behind in the first set but would complete the comeback to win a tiebreak 7-6 before winning the second without relinquishing a game, 6-0.
Needing one more point, freshman Thompson won the other first set for the Irish on the night. After dropping the second set, Thompson ran away with the third set 6-1 to clinch the team win. Giraldez, Jamie Corsillo and Yu Zhang all lost the first sets in their respective matches but all fought valiantly and were close in the second with Zhang forcing a third.
Up Next:
The men’s team will hit the road for spring break. After a few days in Washington D.C., the Irish will play a pair of conference matches in the state of Virginia. First up will be a match against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Then on Sunday, a trip to Charlottesville will see Notre Dame take on the two-time defending NCAA champions, the Virginia Cavaliers with the first serve at 1 p.m.
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Box Score
#49 Notre Dame 4 – #50 Northwestern 0
Doubles
- #11 Dominko/Malkowski(ND) def. Thieneman/Blekher(NU) 6-1
- Giraldez/Thompson(ND) def. Casey/Nordby(NU) 7-5
- Goli/Miller(NU) def. Lee/Zhang(ND) 6-3
Order of Finish(1, 3, 2)
Singles
- #34 Dominko(ND) def. Thieneman(NU) 6-3, 6-2
- Giraldez(ND) vs. Blekher(NU) 4-6, 4-3 DNF
- Corsillo(ND) vs. Goli(NU) 6-7(6), 2-3
- Thompson(ND) def. Nordby(NU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1
- Malkowski(ND) def. Casey(NU) 7-6(5), 6-0
- Zhang(ND) vs. 4-6, 6-3, 0-1 DNF
Order of Finish(1, 5, 4)