No. 5 Virginia Tops Michigan to Advance at ITA IndoorsNo. 5 Virginia Tops Michigan to Advance at ITA Indoors

No. 5 Virginia Tops Michigan to Advance at ITA Indoors

Virginia will face No. 3 Texas on Saturday at 1 pm ET in the quarterfinals

DALLAS, Texas  –  The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2025 ITA National Team Indoor Championship, topping No. 20 Michigan 4-2 on Friday (Feb. 14) at the Styslinger / Altec Tennis Complex.

The Cavaliers (7-1) picked up their second win of the year after losing the doubles point, rallying to defeat the Wolverines (4-3) in the opening match of the tournament.

Virginia will play No. 3 Texas (8-1) on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 1 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals.

Michigan started the match with wins on doubles courts one and two to gain an early 1-0 advantage in the match.

Sophomore Dylan Dietrich cruised to a straight set win on court two over Benjamin Kittay to get the Hoos on the board.

After Michigan retook the lead with a victory on court four, the Cavaliers swung the momentum and took control of the rest of the match.

Freshman Rafael Jódar tied the match with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gavin Young on the top court. Just moments after, freshman Jangjun Kim gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the day, coming through with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) win on court six.

On court five, junior Mans Dahlberg dropped the first set to Patorn Hanchaikul 6-2 but dominated the match the rest of the way. Dahlberg ran away with the second set 6-1 before closing out a 6-3 win in the third set to clinch the victory for the Hoos.

MATCH NOTES

  • Dylan Dietrich won his fourth straight match against a ranked opponent. He his six ranked wins on the year and a 6-2 overall record in dual matches
  • Rafael Jódar won his sixth straight match
  • Jódar and Jangjun Kim improve to 6-1 in singles to start their careers
  • The Cavaliers are now 11-4 against Michigan all-time

#5 Virginia 4, #20 Michigan 2
Singles competition

  1. #44 Rafael Jodar (VA) def. #109 Gavin Young (MICH) 6-3, 6-2
  2. #26 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #87 Benjamin Kittay (MICH) 6-1, 6-3
  3. James Hopper (VA) vs. Will Cooksey (MICH) 7-6 (9-7), 5-2, unfinished
  4. Bjorn Swenson (MICH) def. #103 Keegan Rice (VA) 6-2, 6-3
  5. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. #117 Patorn Hanchaikul (MICH) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
  6. Jangjun Kim (VA) def. Nicholas Steiglehner (MICH) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)

Doubles competition

  1. Benjamin Kittay/Will Cooksey (MICH) def. #65 Keegan Rice/James Hopper (VA) 6-2
  2. Alex Cairo/Gavin Young (MICH) def. #75 Mans Dahlberg/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 7-6 (7-4)
  3. Jangjun Kim/Rafael Jodar (VA) vs. Bjorn Swenson/Mert Oral (MICH) 5-6, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,4,1,6,5)
T-2:44