The Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship final after defeating top-seeded Wake Forest 4-3 at the Magill Tennis Complex on May 16. The Cavaliers, seeded fourth, will face second-seeded Texas in the championship match scheduled for Sunday, May 17.
This victory marks a significant achievement for Virginia, as they overcame an early deficit and rallied from behind against the defending national champions. The win also secures Virginia’s ninth appearance in the finals over the last fifteen championships.
Wake Forest took an early lead by winning the doubles point and maintained momentum by claiming five of six first sets in singles play. However, Virginia mounted a comeback led by Dylan Dietrich, who won his singles match on court one after dropping his first set. Stiles Brockett and Jangjun Kim contributed crucial victories before Andres Santamarta Roig clinched the deciding point with a three-set win.
Head coach Andres Pedroso said, “We knew it was going to be a war. The doubles point was pretty irrelevant. We definitely went for it, but it didn’t go our way. These guys came out and just kind of withstood what Wake Forest threw at us for the first half hour. We’ve been talking about it all year, and we talked about it last night, just weathering storms, playing complete matches, and taking pride in how we compete.” Sophomore Jangjun Kim added about playing at Dan Magill Tennis Complex: “It feels amazing. There is a big crowd to support us. It kind of made me nervous, but it feels amazing.”
Kim also spoke highly of Coach Pedroso: “He wakes me up at the beginning of the match, and it works really well. I love how he’s tough on me and teaches me mentality. He is just with me every day.”
Virginia seeks its seventh team title after previously winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2022 and 2023.
