i rish set for acc tournament opener against Louisville

By J.J. POST a ssociate sports e ditor

This Thursday, notre dame men’s tennis will open up play with a matchup against Louisville in cary, north carolina.

The no. 7 seed cardinals should present a difficult task for the irish for multiple reasons. For one, Louisville is the higherseeded squad. They’ll enter cary having won three of their last four matches. notre dame, in contrast, has dropped their last two.

compounding matters is the fact that one of those two recent losses by the irish came at the hands of Louisville. notre dame will take the court in north carolina with their most recent action being a 4-0 sweep by the cardinals in Louisville. The sweep was one of notre dame’s worst outings in their acc slate, one of four instances in conference play where the irish failed to register a point.

a major storyline for notre dame heading into the tournament is the availability of multiple members of their roster. Graduate student addy vashistha didn’t compete in the irish’s most recent contest. vashistha is usually a staple of the notre dame singles competition rotation. his status for the acc Tournament is uncertain.

Further hurting notre dame’s odds is uncertainty around the availability of freshman sebastian dominko. The breakout rookie didn’t compete in the team’s last matches before their season finale six days ago. he made an appearance against Louisville last Thursday, but only in doubles play. dominko’s 11-6 record in singles play is by some distance the best on the irish roster. if he competes in singles on Thursday in cary, notre dame’s chances of winning should see a significant boost.

Leading the way for the cardinals is former oklahoma state transfer ettiene donnet. The senior has been excellent in singles play on the year, posting a 17-4 record. his 81% winning percentage leads all Louisville players who have competed in more than five matches. donnett has also been a force in doubles play, partnering primarily with either Fabien salle or sergio hernandez. The donnett-hernandez pairing has produced the best results, sporting an 8-5 record. but recently, the cardinals have opted to pair donnett with salle. The donnettsalle pairing has had less success, going 1-2 together. but it opens the door for hernandez to pair with natan rodrigues. rodrigues and hernandez are 6-0 on the year as a duo. notre dame men’s tennis will be back in action on Thursday from cary, north c arolina when they take on Louisville. The contest is set for a 6 p.m. start. The winner will face off against second-seeded d uke in the quarterfinals.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

Observer Sports Staff

e arly monday afternoon, notre d ame forward vena llen Lubin announced his entry into the transfer portal. The news broke via Joe Tipton, national recruiting e xpert at on3. Lubin also tweeted the news on his own account.

“To the University of notre dame, thank you for this season of growth and thank you for being a supportive community. This past year has been filled with new experiences,” Lubin wrote in a tweet. “i am ready to find a new home that will allow me to grow and prosper as a basketball player, and that will allow me to maximize my ability to strive for a winning season with my teammates and coaches.” a four-star recruit from orlando, Florida, Lubin made the most of his opportunities during his first year. The 6-foot-8-inch big man battled injuries during acc play but played in 28 games, starting seven. i mproving as the year progressed, Lubin posted 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game at a 58% shooting clip. at this point, all three members of notre dame men’s basketball’s 2022-23 freshman class have tested the portal waters. Five-star guard JJ starling has already finalized a homecoming to syracuse,

When notre dame’s roster thinned during the heart of conference action, the freshman stepped forward. he saw 20-plus minutes in five acc contests and scored in double-figures each time.