The Virginia men’s tennis team lost to Wake Forest 4-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship final on April 19 at Cary Tennis Park.
This result marks the third consecutive season that Virginia has finished as runner-up in the ACC Championship. The loss also means that Wake Forest remains undefeated in doubles points this season and continues its strong performance against top-ranked teams.
Wake Forest took an early lead by winning doubles matches on courts one and two. In singles, Wake extended its advantage with a quick win on court three. Virginia responded with victories from Dylan Dietrich, who defeated DK Suresh Ekambaram, and Måns Dahlberg, who won against Joaquin Guilleme to tie the match at 2-2. However, wins by Aryan Shah and Mees Rottgering for Wake Forest secured the championship for the Demon Deacons.
Head coach Andres Pedroso said, “Congrats to Wake Forest. They deserved it. They were a little better than us today. I thought they played great in doubles and in singles. They were just a little better. That was the difference. And we expected it to be a tough match, a great match, and it was.” Pedroso added: “So now, total focus on NCAAs. I’m proud of the team. Every guy fought like crazy these last three matches, and we gave ourselves a chance. We just came up a little short. So again, congrats to Wake Forest and hope to see them again in May.”
Virginia is now 13-7 all-time in ACC Championship finals; Dylan Dietrich has won his last twelve completed matches this season with an overall record of 19-1; Måns Dahlberg improved his record to 13-5 this year; both meetings between these teams this season have ended with identical scores of 4-2 for Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers will next await their seeding for the NCAA Championship tournament, with selections set to be announced April 27 on NCAA.com.
