Facing the top team in both the ACC and the nation, No. 1 Wake Forest, Virginia struggled to gain momentum in a 4-1 loss, dropping to 1-3 in conference play. The Cavaliers (9-5, 1-3 ACC) continued to play its new doubles pairings — freshman Rafael Jodar with graduate student James Hopper and junior Ty Switzer with freshman Jangjun Kim — in an effort to shake things up. But despite a strong effort, the Cavaliers could not overcome the Demon Deacons’ (21-0, 4-0 ACC) depth in singles, with Jodar securing Virginia’s only point.
Virginia’s new doubles pairing of Jodar and Hopper found itself locked in a grueling battle on Court 2, ultimately falling short in a tiebreak as Wake Forest secured the doubles point.
From the beginning, the Demon Deacons applied pressure with Court 2’s lefty serve causing troubles for the Cavaliers. Struggling to find their rhythm, Jodar and Hopper quickly fell behind 1-4 as their attempts to rush the net and end points quickly proved unsuccessful. They had a chance to shift the momentum at 2-4, pushing a return game to deuce at 3-4, but Wake Forest held strong to maintain its advantage.
On the other courts, though, the Cavaliers were battling. On Court 1, sophomore Dylan Dietrich and junior Mans Dahlberg dropped their set 3-6, while Switzer and Kim on Court 3 managed to recover from a late break at 5-2 to close out a 6-3 win.
With the doubles point on the line, Jodar and Hopper remained resilient. Down 3-4 and facing a deuce point, Jodar delivered a crucial serve to hold, leveling the score at 4-4. Wake Forest responded with a routine hold, setting up a tense finish. At 5-6, 30-40, Jodar and Hopper faced a do-or-die moment on Jodar’s second serve. Under pressure, they came in clutch, forcing deuce before Jodar delivered a big serve and Hopper put away three overheads to send the match to a deciding seven-point tiebreak.
Wake Forest jumped out to an early lead, winning the first three points, then extending its advantage to 4-1. Jodar and Hopper fought back, with Jodar crushing a massive inside-in forehand return to tie it 4-4. The Cavaliers then won two straight points to take a 6-4 lead, inching closer to the doubles point. However, Hopper lost a serve-and-volley exchange at 6-5, allowing Wake Forest back into the tiebreak.
The Demon Deacons took advantage of this, taking a 7-6 lead before Jodar responded with two huge serves to put the Cavaliers ahead 8-7. A missed return at 8-8 gave Wake Forest another opportunity, and on the final point, Hopper’s short pickup shot at the net led to a firing of forehands from Wake Forest to finish the match. With the win, Wake Forest secured the doubles point, giving it the early edge in the matchup.
Moving onto the singles courts, Virginia struggled to gain traction, with Jodar the lone standout in an otherwise difficult match. Even after a close doubles match where every point mattered, Jodar delivered an impressive straight-sets victory over the No. 5 singles player in the country, Suresh Ekambaram, controlling the match from start to finish with a 6-2, 6-4 win. His aggressive baseline play and consistency under pressure helped him secure the Cavaliers’ only singles victory of the day, providing a much-needed point in this very challenging matchup.
Outside of Jodar’s win, the rest of the Cavaliers found little success. On Court 2, No. 22 Dietrich started strong, taking the first set 6-3, but his match remained unfinished after he lost the second set 3-6. Hopper also pushed his opponent to the limit, winning a tight first set in a tiebreak before his match was halted at 7-6 (7-5), 2-2.
Virginia struggled in the lower lineup as well. Kim and freshman Stiles Brockett were quickly overpowered, with Kim falling 6-1, 6-0 on Court 4 and Brockett suffering a 6-1, 6-2 defeat on Court 6. On Court 5, Dahlberg found his footing late in the second set but ultimately fell 6-0, 7-5, while Wake Forest secured dominant victories to seal the match.
Despite this tough loss, Virginia will look to regroup as it continues through ACC play. The Cavaliers showed flashes of promise and the competitiveness of their new doubles pairings. However, against a dominant Wake Forest team, the depth and consistency across the lineup proved to be a deciding factor. Moving forward, Virginia will need to find ways to close out tight matches as it prepares for the matches ahead.
Virginia will hope to bounce back and secure a much-needed ACC win Friday when it faces Boston College at 3 p.m.
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