BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech (8-5, 1-4) triumphed over No. 50 Notre Dame (9-7, 1-2), 4-3, thanks in part to late match heroics from the back half of the lineup.
The afternoon would not begin in Tech's favor, as the Hokies would surrender the doubles point in two matches. The No. 80 pairing of Ryan Fishback and Maxime St. Hilaire would face a tough test in No. 11 Sebastian Dominko and Jean-Marc Malkowski, ending in a 3-6 loss. That would be followed by Matt Harper and Alberto Orso falling on court two, 2-6. Michael Shepheard and Alex Ix would not finish their match, which ended 4-2 after the clinch on court two.
Tech would get back into the match quickly, as Maxime St. Hilaire earned the only two-set victory by either side, defeating Nil Giraldez, 7-5, 6-3 to tie the match at one point apiece. The Fighting Irish would bounce back to take the lead after No. 60 Ryan Fishback fell in three sets to No. 34 Sebastian Dominko.
Freshman Benjamin Pomeranets would continue his campaign with another matchup against a veteran opponent. After climbing back in the second set, winning 6-3, Pomeranets would drop his final set against Jean-Marc Malkowski, 2-6. On court three, Michael Shepheard had a strong lead of 6-2, 5-1 while facing Jameson Corsillo, and Corsillo would climb back for a 7-5 second-set victory. The deciding set would see Shepheard back in his dominant form, securing the victory, 6-3.
After dropping his first set 0-6, Hugo Maia would storm back to take his second set 7-6 (7-4), keeping the Hokies in the match. Maia would then enter a tiebreaker set against Chase Thompson of Notre Dame, finishing the match with a 7-6 (7-3) victory to tie the score at three.
While Maia was battling to keep Virginia Tech in the match, Alberto Orso was also in a battle of his own. His first two sets ended 6-3 and 3-6, setting up a deciding third set at the same exact time as Maia's match on court four. Fans and athletes would fuel Maia's and Orso's performances, as the matches would simultaneously create shifts in momentum with every point on both courts. As Maia tied the match, Orso was deadlocked with Yu Zhang, before finally putting away the 20th point of the tiebreaker, securing the win for the Hokies in exhilarating fashion with a 7-6 (11-9) victory.
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The Hokies look to build upon this momentum with a home match against No. 39 Louisville on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.Gallery: (3-15-2024) MTEN: Notre Dame Match
