No. 24 Vanderbilt (18-12) squared off against No. 23 Notre Dame (21-8) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Black and Gold bested the Fighting Irish 4-1 at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Illinois, securing their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2019.
After posting a disappointing 5-9 record in SEC play, the Commodores reignited their season with an SEC Tournament victory over Alabama, but then lost to Texas A&M in the second round. Notre Dame had a similar conference tournament result, beating North Carolina before losing to Virginia in the ACC Tournament.
The Fighting Irish came out of the gate swinging, with Evan Lee and Chase Thompson notching a 6-2 victory over Jack Satterfield and Danil Panarin at the No. 3 doubles position. Vanderbilt’s No. 13 nationally ranked duo of Nathan Cox and HoYoung Roh secured a win at the No. 1 spot, downing No. 50 Sebastian Dominko and Perry Gregg 6-3.
The doubles point hinged on the No. 2 position, where Notre Dame’s No. 79 pair of Luis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad took on Pablo Martinez Gomez and Callum Markowitz. Saracho and Nad outlasted Gomez and Markowitz 7-5, securing the doubles point for Notre Dame.
“I thought, overall, we did a good job of bringing the energy, head coach Scott Brown said after the match. “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.”
The Fighting Irish failed to carry their doubles momentum into singles play, though. Vanderbilt’s Nathan Cox evened the score on the match, capturing a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kyran Magimay. Freshman Donghyun Hwang followed suit, defeating Thompson 6-2, 6-4. The remaining four singles matches entered third sets while the Commodores claimed a 2-1 lead.
“Credit to Donny [Hwang] and Nate [Cox] playing side-by-side and bringing the energy by getting two straight-sets victories to get us on the board,” Brown said. “I think that carried over to everyone else.”
No. 97 Roh lost the first set 6-2 to No. 69 Gregg, but responded by winning the next two 6-3, 6-3 in a battle at the No. 2 singles spot. The Commodores just needed one more match to go their way, and Satterfield delivered. The freshman escaped with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Saracho in a remarkable showdown at the No. 5 position.
“The guys never quit,” Brown said. “Pablo [Martinez Gomez], Roh and Jack [Satterfield] 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.”
Brown recognized what this win means for the future of Vanderbilt Men’s Tennis.
“It’s great to get this win for Vanderbilt and the future of this program,” Brown said. “To get that first round win, our first since 2019, carrying the legacy of Vanderbilt [Men’s] Tennis, it was good to get over that hump and advance past the opening round.”
Vanderbilt will stay in Champaign, Illinois, and face off against 14-seed Illinois in the second round Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m. CDT.
