Virginia’s Season Ends at NCAA Quarterfinals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The Virginia men’s tennis team (25-6) had its season end with a 4-1 loss against Wake Forest (31-6) in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday (May 17) at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla.

Wake Forest won the doubles point and took a 3-0 lead in the match before senior Iñaki Montes added a point for the Cavaliers. DK Suresh clinched the match for the Demon Deacons with a three-set victory on court two.

The Cavaliers were playing without their top-ranked singles player, Chris Rodesch, who was scratched from the team’s lineup due to illness.

Wake Forest opened the match with a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, but Montes and freshman Dylan Dietrich answered with a 6-3 win on court two. The Demon Deacons won 7-5 on three to take the point.

Wake Forest won five first sets to open singles play. Senior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won a tiebreaker, 8-6 on court three to give the Cavaliers their lone first set.

Virginia mounted a comeback in the second sets with Montes, Dietrich and sophomore Måns Dahlberg forcing third sets on courts one, two and five.

Wake Forest took court four 6-2, 6-2 to take a 2-0 lead. Grad student James Hopper battled to a 6-6 tie in his second set on court six, but was edged 7-5 in the tiebreaker as Wake went up 3-0.

Montes closed out his collegiate career with a signature firey performance. He had dropped his first set against No. 25 Filippo Moroni 6-0 but bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second set to force a third. He took the final set 6-3 to give the Cavaliers a point on the scoreboard.

Dietrich had been up a break in his third set against Suresh on court two, but Suresh broke back to even the set and then broke again. He held serve to close out a 6-4 win to clinch the match.

Von der Schulenburg was up 3-2 on court three when play was abandoned. Dahlberg was down a break, but was up 15-40 with a chance to get back on serve on five.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Congratulations to Wake Forest. Incredible fight. I hope they get a national championship for the ACC. We’re rooting for them all the way.”

“What can I say? Like always, these guys fought til the bitter end. Every single court just fought tooth and nail for the program, for the values that we believe in, for the brotherhood. The fourth years, what can I say? They have taken this program to new heights, and they’ve done it by winning over the entire UVA community and college tennis community. And they’ve won the respect of their opponents. I’m just so proud to have coached those guys for four years. What a legacy. What a story. They’ll never be forgotten.”

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia is the No. 3 seed in the championship but is ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA team rankings
• Wake Forest is the 6-seed and ranked No. 6
• Iñaki Montes finishes his career with a 12-1 record in singles matches in NCAA team championships and 12-2 record in doubles
• Senior Alex Kiefer had a 14-match win streak in singles snapped. This was his first singles loss since March 1
• This was Virginia’s first loss in an outdoor match since falling against USC in the NCAA Round of 16 on May 17, 2021
• Virginia holds an 81-19 record in NCAA Championship matches
• Dylan Dietrich and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg’s seasons will continue as they compete in the NCAA Singles Championship next week. Chris Rodesch and Iñaki Montes have both withdrawn from the draw and Montes and James Hopper have dropped out of the doubles draw
• Montes finishes his career with a 71-23 record in singles and 76-26 in doubles
• Rodesch finished his career with an 89-26 record in singles and 78-30 in doubles
• Kiefer finishes his career with a 61-26 record in singles

#6 Wake Forest 4, #2 Virginia 1
Singles competition

1. #33 Inaki Montes (VA) def. #25 Filippo Moroni (WAKE) 0-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #79 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. #52 Dylan Dietrich (VA) 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4
3. #61 J vd Schulenburg (VA) vs. Matthew Thomson (WAKE) 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
4. #124 Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer (VA) 6-2, 6-2
5. Mans Dahlberg (VA) vs. Luca Pow (WAKE) 3-6, 7-5, 3-4, unfinished
6. Holden Koons (WAKE) def. James Hopper (VA) 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Doubles competition

1. #2 Holden Koons/DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper (VA) 6-3
2. Dylan Dietrich/Inaki Montes (VA) def. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WAKE) 6-3
3. Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer/J vd Schulenburg (VA) 7-5

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,1,6,2)
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