The Notre Dame men’s tennis team concluded their participation in ITA Kickoff Weekend in Lexington this afternoon. It was a tough pair of matches as the Irish fell to Kentucky and Nebraska in the event,
On Friday, the Irish opened up with host Kentucky in a match they would drop 4-0 to the #10 ranked team in the country. The top duo in the lineup of Sebastian Dominko and Jean-Marc Malkowski posted a dominant performance with a quick 6-1 victory. But the Wildcats would take the doubles points with wins are the 2nd and 3rd spots to claim the point.
The match took place at the Boone Tennis Center which only has 4 courts so the top four singles positions in the lineup began first. The Irish would drop matches at #4 and #2 singles in competitive but straight sets. Nil Giraldez fought his way into the match after a slow start and after losing the first set, would be up a break on a couple occasions in the second but could not force a deciding third set, losing on his court and giving Kentucky the win. Dominko took the first set in a tiebreak on the front court and was at 5-5 in the second in a match that saw neither player break serve the entire time. His match as well as the #5 and #6 position would be abandoned with the team score determined.
Saturday saw the Nebraska Cornhuskers across the net from Notre Dame. Dominko and Malkowski repeated their dominance at #1 doubles with yet another 6-1 win to start the day. But the Huskers would take the doubles point with wins at #2 and #3.
Dominko played another tight match where each player only broke serve once. The Slovenian sophomore would win the first set in a tiebreak and finish off with a second set 6-4 win to claim the court and tie the team score at 1-1.
Malkowski and Giraldez each pushed their opponents in extended second sets but the Huskers would take the wins at #4 and #3 respectively. Chase Thompson responded after dropping the first set 6-4 to take the second 6-4 himself. But the freshman found himself down in the third set and despite saving 5 match points and closing the gap, he would ultimately succumb 6-3 in the third and seal the contest in favor of the team in red.
Up Next:
The men’s team will have a weekend off from competing before returning to the courts on February 9th at Michigan. Then the Irish will start a long home stand with a double header against Auburn and Toledo on Sunday the 11th.
It won’t be a week off from competing for Sebastian Dominko as he travels to China to…