No. 5 Virginia entered Friday night’s home match against No. 3 Ohio State hungry for a win. Both teams came in undefeated, with the visitors not having lost a single point on the season.
The Cavaliers (4-1, 0-0 ACC) were at least able to end that streak, winning two points in singles but ultimately losing 5-2 to the Buckeyes (5-0, 0-0 Big 10). The two teams — which are developing a budding rivalry after facing off in the final of the 2023 NCAA Championships, which Virginia won — are now even in their historical head-to-head at 11-11.
Though Ohio State ultimately outclassed Virginia, quickly taking the doubles point and then winning four of six first sets, Coach Andres Pedroso’s side showed heart and the ability to work back into games from tough deficits, displaying some strong flashes of play in the process — even without two starters.
Freshman Keegan Rice and graduate student James Hopper both missed the match. The doubles duo is undefeated as a team on the season, but both players also hold undefeated singles records — had they played, likely finding themselves on Court 3 and 4, the match may have gone wildly differently. Rice had missed practice earlier in the week due to illness, though it is unknown if that was why he did not play.
Ohio State took home the doubles point — both the Buckeyes and Virginia had won all four on the season heading into the match, though the former also has yet to lose a doubles set in 2025.
Freshmen Jangjun Kim and Rafael Jódar played a competitive first few games against strong opponents but ultimately were broken a couple of times en route to a 6-3 loss. The other doubles loss for Virginia came in the season debut for juniors Douglas Yaffa and Ty Switzer, who, after a slow start, kept the set alive with consistent play and a handful of well-placed lobs but ultimately could not do enough to bring home a win, losing 6-2.
At the time, the duo of sophomore Dylan Dietrich and junior Mans Dahlberg was trailing 5-3, having also let the set get away after being broken early.
The Cavaliers opened scoring in singles on Court 1, with Dietrich winning in straight sets over the No. 11-ranked singles player in the country, sophomore Aidan Kim. Dietrich had dominant serves throughout the match, able to build a comfortable lead in the second set and ultimately winning 6-4, 6-2. Dietrich had a rough outing last weekend, losing both singles matches, so a win against a strong opponent bodes well for him moving into the coming weeks.
Kim, despite some flashes of strong play — even breaking his opponent and leading early in the first set — lost 4-6, 0-6 on Court 4 against a much more experienced opponent in junior Jack Anthrop.
Though Jódar and Brockett took their respective opponents on Courts 2 and 6 to third sets, that ultimately did not matter, as Yaffa and Dahlberg lost their matches in two, allowing the Buckeyes to clinch a fourth point and a victory.
Making his season debut, Yaffa held his own against an opponent who has not lost a set all year. Dahlberg also stayed competitive in his match, looking excellent on the baseline in the first set, but failing to convert that into a win.
The two freshmen whose matches entered a third set — Jódar and Brockett — both showed strong tenacity and high-level play. Jódar won a close first set but lost 6-1 in the second, ultimately taking home the third set 6-3 to score Virginia’s second point. The inverse happened for Brockett, who was decimated 6-1 in the first set but managed to string together some consistent play in the second to force a tiebreaking set, which he ultimately lost 6-3.
The Cavaliers will return to action Sunday morning for a home matchup against No. 1 Texas at the Boar’s Head Resort. Virginia has won eight straight against the Longhorns (6-0, 0-0 SEC), who were the national runner-ups last year and have only dropped two points on the season. The Cavaliers will be hoping to leave the weekend with at least one win before travelling to face 2-2 Georgia Friday.
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