The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team hit the road this weekend for a pair of ACC matchups. After splitting its matches last weekend, including a 4-2 win over then-No. 8 Stanford, Virginia climbed to No. 5 in the latest ITA rankings. They justified that ranking with a 4-3 win over Notre Dame and a 4-1 domination of Louisville.
Sophomore Dylan Dietrich, ranked No. 21 in singles and filling in for the absent freshman Rafael Jódar on the top court, improved the Cavaliers’ record on the top court this season to 14-2. Historically dominant against both this weekend’s opponents, Virginia now holds a 21-2 record over Notre Dame all-time and a 14-2 record over Louisville, having won the last five matches.
Virginia pulled off a thrilling win on the road Friday against Notre Dame at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The Cavaliers (14-6, 6-4 ACC) found themselves trailing after a close doubles point went the way of the Irish (13-11, 1-9 ACC) but yet again responded in singles play to secure their fifth conference win of the season. Dietrich moved back into the Line 1 singles spot, while Virginia tested out three new doubles combinations — none of which had competed together in dual match play this season.
Notre Dame took the early lead with a 6-3 win at Line 3 doubles, capitalizing on early breaks and strong net play. But Virginia responded quickly — Dietrich and freshman Jangjun Kim, who were paired for just the second time this season, played aggressive from the baseline. The duo broke serve early and delivered a strong 6-2 victory at Line 2.
At Line 1, junior Mans Dahlberg and graduate student James Hopper played a composed match, holding serve through multiple tight games. The pair mixed in strong first serves with poaching opportunities and stayed steady in pressure points. Ultimately, their match came down to a tiebreak, where Notre Dame edged them out 7-6 (3), taking advantage of a few mini-breaks to clinch the doubles point and the early 1-0 lead.
The momentum carried over to the top singles court, where Dietrich dropped a straight-sets decision to No. 31 junior Sebastian Dominko. The Notre Dame standout applied pressure with deep returns, forcing Dietrich into defensive positions and keeping him from finding his rhythm. Despite several competitive games, Dietrich ultimately fell 6-4, 6-2, but Virginia did not give up the fight. Hopper got the Cavaliers on the board with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win at Line 3, mixing net approaches and sharp angles to keep his opponent off balance.
Dalberg followed with a clutch performance at Line 6, battling through tight service games and saving multiple set points in the second set to earn a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win to even the match at 2-2. Kim then delivered another composed performance at Line 5, breaking late in the second set to close out a 6-3, 7-5 victory and give the Cavaliers their first lead of the day.
With the Cavaliers up 3-2, Notre Dame responded by leveling the match again with a win at Line 2, setting the stage for freshman Roy Horovitz. Playing at Line 4, Horovitz dropped the first set and fell behind early in the second. Before letting the set slip away, Horovitz came back to take the second set 6-3, then held serve until the third. At 5-5, Horovitz broke serve and held steady to close out a 5-6, 6-3, 7-5 win — his first career victory at Line 4 singles and the match-clincher for the Cavaliers.
With the win, Virginia secured its sixth victory of the season after losing the doubles point.
Two days later, Virginia ended its road trip with a 4-1 win over Louisville (9-15, 1-9 ACC) at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center, securing its third consecutive win. The Cavaliers returned to more familiar doubles pairings, and the move paid off — Dietrich and Dahlberg picked up a 6-4 win at Line 2, while Hopper and freshman Keegan Rice clinched the point at Line 1 with another 6-4 victory. The win marked Hopper and Rice’s first as a duo since early March.
Without Jodar in the singles lineup for the second straight match, Dietrich remained in the top spot and delivered one of his most dominant performances of the season, winning 6-1, 6-1 to continue the Cavaliers’ lead. He came out firing, hitting strong forehands and breaking his opponent’s serve early.
Dahlberg followed with another strong showing at Line 6, earning a 6-1, 6-4 win to push the margin to 3-0. He remained steady, using well-placed serves and clean backhands to fend off a late push and secure the victory. Though Louisville grabbed a point off Rice at Line 2, Kim once again came through in the clutch. After dropping the first set 6-1, Kim flipped the momentum in the second. Cutting down on unforced errors and constructing points more patiently, his second-set win swung the match in his favor. In the decider, Kim took full control, breaking twice and closing out the match 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Line 5 to clinch the match.
Virginia now returns to Charlottesville, where it will face Georgia Tech Friday and No. 22 Clemson Sunday.
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