No. 6 Virginia Comes Back to Defeat No. 25 Clemson 4-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 6 Virginia men’s tennis team finished the weekend with a come-from-behind 4-2 win at home over No. 25 Clemson on Sunday (April 6) at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.

The Cavaliers (16-6, 8-4 ACC) lost the doubles point but battled back to take down the Tigers (19-6, 7-5 ACC), picking up their fifth straight win.

Clemson took the doubles point to open the match, winning on doubles courts two and three to pull ahead 1-0.

The Tigers followed with a straight set victory on court four to extend their lead to 2-0 over the Cavaliers.

Trailing 2-0, freshman Jangjun Kim got the Hoos on the board with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Marko Mesarovic on court five.

Junior Mans Dahlberg tied the match for Virginia shortly after, winning 6-3, 6-4 over Max Smith on court six.

The remaining matches all went to deciding sets. Graduate student James Hopper dropped the opening set to No. 122 Wissam Abderrahman on court three but took the second 6-3 to even the match. In the third, Hopper pulled away from Abderrahman, taking the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to put the Cavaliers up 3-2.

On the top singles court, sophomore Dylan Dietrich also dropped the first set but got the crucial break at 3-3 in the second, eventually taking the set 6-4 and forcing a decider. In the deciding set, Dietrich got the early break and took control of the match, clinching the win for the Hoos with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 46 Noa Vukadin.

MATCH NOTES

• The Cavaliers won their 23rd straight against the Tigers
• Virginia won for the seventh time this season after losing the doubles point
• Dylan Dietrich improves to 12-4 in dual matches this season and 6-2 in the ACC
• Mans Dahlberg picked up his fourth straight singles win
• Jangjun Kim won his fourth straight completed singles match, improving to 12-4 on the year
• Freshman Stiles Brockett made his doubles dual match debut, playing at No. 3 doubles with partner Ty Switzer
• The Cavaliers defeated a top 25 opponent in the ITA Team Rankings for the seventh time this season

UP NEXT

• The Cavaliers will return home for Senior Day on Friday (April 11), taking on Virginia Tech at 4 p.m.

#6 Virginia 4, #25 Clemson 2
Singles competition

1. #23 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #46 Noa Vukadin (CU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
2. Keegan Rice (VA) vs. Viktor Markov (CU) 2-6, 7-5, 3-5, unfinished
3. James Hopper (VA) def. #122 Wissam Abderrahman (CU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Romain Gales (CU) def. Roy Horovitz (VA) 6-1, 6-3
5. Jangjun Kim (VA) def. Marko Mesarovic (CU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Max Smith (CU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. #35 Dylan Dietrich/Mans Dahlberg (VA) vs. #48 Noa Vukadin/Max Smith (CU) 4-4, unfinished
2. #85 Max Damm/Romain Gales (CU) def. #42 James Hopper/Keegan Rice (VA) 6-3
3. Wissam Abderrahman/Viktor Markov (CU) def. Ty Switzer/Stiles Brockett (VA) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,5,6,3,1)
T-2:50 A-300