CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No. 24 Vanderbilt men’s tennis secured its first NCAA Tournament win since 2019, downing No. 23 Notre Dame 4-1 at the Atkins Tennis Center on Friday.
“Our goal coming into doubles today was to have a better start from an energy standpoint, not necessarily a score standpoint,” head coach Scott Brown said. “We didn’t have our best energy to start some of the matches at the SEC Tournament. I thought, overall, we did a good job of bringing the energy. We knew Notre Dame was favored in doubles – that’s one of their strongest points. I think our energy at the start helped us set the tone.”
Vanderbilt (18-12, 5-9 SEC) faltered early as Notre Dame (21-8, 9-4 ACC) clinched the opening doubles point. The Fighting Irish’s Evan Lee and Chase Thompson downed junior Danil Panarin and freshman Jack Satterfield 6-2. Momentum shifted soon after with a 6-3 victory from the No. 13 ranked duo of senior Nathan Cox and freshman Hoyoung Roh over No. 50 Sebastian Dominko and Perry Gregg. It was the pair’s fifth win against a ranked opponent this season.
With the doubles point hanging in the balance, sophomores Pablo Martinez Gomez and Callum Markowitz pushed the match to the brink. After trailing 4-1, the pair forced a 5-5 tie against No. 79 Louis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad. It was too little, too late for the Commodore duo, however, as Notre Dame held it down to claim the match 7-5 and snag the early advantage.
The momentum continued to favor the Fighting Irish in singles after both teams split first set leads across the six courts to begin singles play. As the match went on, though, Vanderbilt continued to chip away. The Dores posted their first point on the board at No. 4 singles behind a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Kyran Magimay by Cox. Vandy notched its first lead of the contest shortly after, propelled by freshman Donghyun Hwang’s 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Both teams went back and forth in the home stretch, with the remaining three courts going to third sets. When they needed the points the most, the Commodores delivered, first at No. 2 singles. No. 97 Hoyoung overcame a 6-2 first set loss to No. 50 Gregg, cruising through the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 to provide Vanderbilt its third point. And as it has happened multiple times this season, Satterfield was the one to clinch it for the Dores, surviving a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 match against Llorens Saracho to push Vanderbilt into the next round.
“These matches always have twists and turns,” Brown said. “There were plenty of momentum shifts, but I was proud of our guys today that, when that happened, we bit back. And I think that’s why we crossed the line first today. […] Credit to Donny and Nate playing side-by-side and bringing the energy by getting 2 straight-sets victories to get us on the board. I think that carried over to everyone else. The guys never quit – Pablo, Roh and Jack lost their first sets and all came back to win the next set. That’s the character we have, that’s part of our culture; the Dores are never going to back down. We are going to fight until the end.”
“It’s great to get this win for Vanderbilt and the future of this program,” Brown concluded. To get that first round win, our first since 2019, carrying the legacy of Vanderbilt Tennis – it was good to get over that hump and advance past the opening round.”
No. 24 Vanderbilt eyes a battle with No. 14 Illinois after the hosts blanked Yale 4-0 in its opening match. The Commodores and Fighting Illini are set to square off at 4 p.m. Live streaming is available online with live stats accessible here. Fans can find match day information, purchase tickets and more on the Illinois Regional Central website page. For more information, updates and exclusive match day content, follow the Vanderbilt men’s tennis team, @VandyMTennis, on Instagram and X.
No. 24 Vanderbilt 4, No. 23 Notre Dame 1
Doubles
1. No. 13 Cox/Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] def. No. 50 Dominko/Gregg [Notre Dame] 6-3
2. No. 79 Llorens Saracho/Nad [Notre Dame] def. Martinez Gomez/Markowitz [Vanderbilt] 7-5
3. Lee/Thompson [Notre Dame] def. Panarin/Satterfield [Vanderbilt] 6-2
Singles
1. No. 20 Dominko [Notre Dame] vs. No. 72 Martinez Gomez [Vanderbilt] 7-6 (7), 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
2. No. 97 Hoyoung [Vanderbilt] def. No. 69 Gregg [Notre Dame] 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Nad [Notre Dame] vs. Panarin [Vanderbilt] 4-6, 7-6 (4), 4-4, unfinished
4. Cox [Vanderbilt] def. Magimay [Notre Dame] 6-4, 6-3
5. Satterfield [Vanderbilt] def. Llorens Saracho [Notre Dame] 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
6. Hwang [Vanderbilt] def. Thompson [Notre Dame] 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,6,2,5)
