The Hokies defeated No. 17 Notre Dame 4-1 in a men’s tennis match on April 5 in Blacksburg. This win is the team’s highest-ranked victory since they beat then-No. 16 Notre Dame in 2019.
The result is significant for the Hokies, as it marks a milestone against a top-20 opponent and highlights the progress of their program this season.
The match was decided on Court No. 1, where junior Ilyas Fahim overcame No. 15 Sebastian Dominko with scores of 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), and 6-3 to secure the overall team victory for Virginia Tech. After dropping the first set, Fahim came back to win a tiebreaker in the second set before controlling the third set.
Virginia Tech started strong by earning the doubles point after victories from Fahim and Patrik Jurina (6-4) and Blake Hilsen with Eyal Shumilov (7-5) over ranked opponents Luis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad. In singles play, Shumilov quickly claimed his match with a dominant first set and finished with a score of 6-0, 6-4 to give Tech its second point.
Notre Dame took Court No. 4 after three sets, but senior Julian Lozano responded for Virginia Tech by winning his singles match in straight sets: “In a back-and-forth battle in the tiebreaker, Lozano pushed ahead from a deficit to defeat his opponent.” Shortly after Lozano’s win, Fahim clinched the team victory on Court No.1.
As this regular season comes to an end, Virginia Tech will host No.4 Virginia at home for senior day at Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
