(Photo by Ian Billings)
Jefferson P. Nolan
jnolan@mustangdaily.net
It wasn’t until the third set in Andre Dome’s second match in the NCAA tournament that it began to rain.
Pellets began to drop from thick clouds in Urbana, Ill., staining the dark blue surface of the tennis courts. After defeating Kentucky’s Anthony Rossi in the first set 6-2 and dropping the second in a tiebreaker, all Dome could do was sit courtside as he waited to resume the most important match of his collegiate career.
After a 30-minute delay, the tennis umpire moved the match indoors. Away from the camera feed, away from the spotlight.
It was there that the Cal Poly tennis phenomenon became an All-American.
Having won his serve in the first game of the third set on the outdoor court, Dome broke Rossi’s serve and made a run.
“The big moment in the match (was) when I was up in the third set, and it started raining,” Dome said. “We moved indoors, and I broke him. I was in shock.”
Dome’s 6-3 victory in the third set marked the first time in Cal Poly Division I history that a tennis player has achieved All-American status. The win secured Dome’s spot amongst the top 16 ranked college players in the nation.
And after going to every home match in San Luis Obispo, Dome’s mother Dina and her husband were unable to watch their son as he went indoors, out of range of the cameras, to complete the final third set.
“Closing it out, I got a little nervous, but I pulled through,” Dome said. “I called my parents, but it was weird because they had a live feed outdoors, but they didn’t have it inside. I guess it made it a little more nerve-wracking for them.”
And while tennis is most certainly an individual sport, Dome insists that he wasn’t alone on the court.
“It’s like it was a whole team effort,” Dome said. “I really don’t take that much credit for it. It took a lot of people to help me get prepared for the tournament, and it felt good winning like that.”
Dome’s teammate, sophomore Naveen Beasley, after constantly checking live updates on the third set, was in his mechanical engineering class when Dome won the final point of the third set.
“I couldn’t help myself, but I yelled out loud ‘Yes!’ right in the middle of the lecture,” Beasley said with a laugh. “My professor and the entire class looked at me. I just said, ‘Sorry. My friend just became an All-American.’”
Men’s tennis head coach Nick Carless also spent his Friday morning refreshing the internet to check the scores of the rain-delayed match.
“It’s special because it’s not every day that your (program) gets their first All-American,” Carless said. “There are great tennis programs that have never even had an All-American. It’s a testament to how hard he’s worked and all that he’s been through.”
And after coaching previous All-Americans in his days at Pepperdine University, Carless knows how hard it is to achieve such a status.
“It’s not easy,” Carless said. “I knew that ability-wise he was good enough, but you just need some breaks in the season and get into the tournament.”
To become an All-American, collegiate tennis players must either be seeded in the NCAA tournament, must finish in the top 16 of the final national rankings or must win two rounds in the tournament.
After defeating Georgia Tech’s and Kentucky’s top ranked players, Dome secured his place in the rankings.
“In terms of Cal Poly, (Dome) was the little engine that could,” Carless said. “In the age-old story of David versus Goliath, Andre was David in facing these bigger schools. It’s just such an amazing way for an amazing (college) career to end.”
But Dome’s second victory in the tournament would be his last in a Cal Poly uniform as he fell to No. 13 Evan King of Michigan in two straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. After compiling a perfect conference record and winning 23 of the 27 matches in the 2012-13 tennis season, the loss to King was Dome’s first singles defeat since January of this year.
“He’s a great player,” Dome said of King. “I got up on him 3-1 on both sets, but great players figure out a way to get back in the match. He played really well when he needed to.”
With his collegiate career finally complete, Dome will look forward to competing at the professional level with the possibilities of traveling to Canada or joining the national team in New York before he travels the world to take on the best in the game.
But until then, Cal Poly’s most accomplished tennis player will look forward to graduating and spending some time off the court.