No. 5 Virgina travelled to the Carolina Indoor Tennis Center in Columbia, S.C., to open up the spring season Thursday against No. 15 South Carolina. The Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) defeated the Gamecocks (0-1, 0-0 SEC) 5-2, kicking off the season with a win over a strong opponent.
Virginia kicked off the day by comfortably winning the doubles point, with the doubles pairing of freshmen Jangjun Kim and Rafael Jodar and the No. 92 duo of sophomore Dylan Dietrich and junior Mans Dahlberg each winning 6-3. For Kim and Jodar, both of whom joined the Cavaliers in January, this marked the first wins of their college careers.
Dietrich — currently ranked as the No. 57 singles player in the nation — opened the scoring in singles with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win on court one. Shortly afterward, Jodar fell 6-4, 6-4 on court two, bringing the score to 2-1 in favor of the Cavaliers.
Coming back from wrist surgery, graduate student James Hopper pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win, dropping the first set 2-6, then at one point trailing his opponent 0-5 in the second. Ultimately winning the match 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, Hopper gave Virginia a small lead with three singles matchups unresolved.
“Our guys displayed on the court tonight what our identity has been, as a program, for a very long time in terms of how we compete,” Coach Andres Pedroso said after the match. “What James Hopper did today is the epitome of what our competitiveness and grit are all about.”
Kim won a three-set match to score Virginia’s fourth, and ultimately winning, point, on court six. Afterward, Dahlberg dropped a competitive match on court three, and freshman Keegan Rice’s opponent — No. 55 ranked singles player sophomore Sean Daryabeigi — retired to cement the final score as a 5-2 win for the Cavaliers and earn Murray a debut win.
Virginia will travel to Richmond Sunday for an afternoon matchup against Old Dominion. The Monarchs (1-0, 0-0 CUSA) defeated Georgetown 6-1 in their season opener. After that matchup, the Cavaliers will be hosting a four-team tournament for ITA Kickoff Weekend. The tournament will include four matches played between Jan. 25 and 26 at Boar’s Head Resort, and Virginia will face Boise State first, with the other leg of the tournament being played by VCU and No. 19 Alabama.
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