Virginia defeated Stanford, 3-1, in the Atlantic Coast Conference match play final to secure its second straight conference championship, according to an announcement on April 27. The Cavaliers are the first team in the ACC’s match play era, which began in 2021, to win back-to-back titles.
The victory was led by Paul Chang, Ben James and Bryan Lee. Chang delivered the clinching point for Virginia by halving the 16th hole with a par after his match with Stanford’s Dean Greyserman was tied through ten holes. Chang then won four consecutive holes starting at No. 11 and made an eagle on the par-5 thirteenth hole. He won all three of his matches during this tournament and finished his ACC match play career with a record of five wins and one loss.
James rebounded from a semifinal defeat against North Carolina’s Carson Bertagnole earlier in the day by defeating Stanford’s Jay Leng without trailing after taking an early lead on the fourth hole. James closed out his match with a series of birdies over six holes.
Bryan Lee earned Virginia’s second point by beating Ethan Gao of Stanford, leading since the second hole and remaining unbeaten throughout this year’s ACC Championship match play rounds.
The Cavaliers entered as top seed for this year’s championship after finishing second in stroke play over fifty-four holes. The team is currently ranked number two nationally by both Scoreboard and Golf Coaches Association of America top-25 polls.
According to additional notes provided in Virginia’s announcement, it is now the first men’s golf program to win back-to-back championships since Georgia Tech achieved that feat in 2018 and 2019. Virginia has also set an ACC record with six consecutive victories in league championship competition dating back to last season.
