CARY, N.C. – The No. 4 Virginia men’s tennis team (21-3, 12-1 ACC) rallied to defeat Cal (16-13, 6-7 ACC) by a score of 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday (April 17) at the Cary Tennis Park.
The second-seeded Cavaliers advance to the semifinals, where they'll face third-seeded Notre Dame at 10 a.m. Saturday (April 18).
Friday's action began with the 10th-seeded Golden Bears jumping out to a 1-0 advantage following a lopsided doubles point.
That lead grew to 2-0 with a swift victory for Cal on singles court four before No. 1 Dylan Dietrich got the Cavaliers on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win on the top court over No. 64 Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski. UVA sophomore Stiles Brockett, who used a 10-8 tiebreaker win to take his first set, cruised to a 6-2 second-set victory on court five to tie the match at 2-2.
With the remaining three matches all requiring third sets, two of which saw the Cavaliers battle back from dropped first sets, Cal reached the three-point mark first with a win on court three. However, No. 15 Keegan Rice promptly responded with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win on two to tie the match for UVA.
The match came down to a third-set tiebreaker on court six, where senior Måns Dahlberg won 7-5 to complete his 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory and enable UVA to hold Cal's upset bid.
MATCH NOTES
- The Cavaliers won both matches this season against Cal. Virginia previously won 4-1 in Berkeley, Calif., in regular-season action on March 6.
- No. 1 Dylan Dietrich has now won his last 10 completed matches.
- No. 14 Keegan Rice improves to 16-1 this season with wins in his last 12 completed matches.
- Stiles Brockett improves to 11-6 and Måns Dahlberg improves to 11-5.
- Virginia has played Notre Dame once this season, downing the Fighting Irish 4-1 in Charlottesville on April 3.
- The Cavaliers are looking for their 16th ACC title.
UP NEXT
- The Cavaliers take on Notre Dame in the ACC Men's Tennis Championship semifinals on Saturday (April 18) at 10 a.m. at the Cary Tennis Park.
#4 Virginia 4, #47 California 3
Singles competition
1. #1 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #64 F Lechno-Wasiutynski (CAL) 7-5, 6-3
2. #15 Keegan Rice (VA) def. Timofey Stepanov (CAL) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Tiago Silva (CAL) def. #48 Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-4
4. Bernardo Munk Mesa (CAL) def. #124 Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-2, 7-5
5. Stiles Brockett (VA) def. Paris Pouatcha (CAL) 7-6 (10-8), 6-2
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Lenn Luemkemann (CAL) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. #33 Alex Aney/Timofey Stepanov (CAL) def. #45 Mans Dahlberg/Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-3
2. F Lechno-Wasiutynski/Tiago Silva (CAL) def. Dylan Dietrich/Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) 7-5
3. Keegan Rice/Stiles Brockett (VA) vs. Bernardo Munk Mesa/Paris Pouatcha (CAL) 5-5 UF
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)