Men's TennisMen's Tennis
Jamie Holt/Virginia Athletics

Cavaliers to Face Mississippi State Thursday in NCAA Quarterfinals

The fourth-seed Cavaliers will face fifth-seed Mississippi State on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Athens, Ga.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The fourth-seeded Virginia men’s tennis team (25-4) will take on fifth-seeded Mississippi State (25-5) in the quarterfinals of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tennis Team Championship on Thursday (May 14) at 7 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

The winner of the match will face either first-seeded Wake Forest (33-3) or eighth-seeded Arizona (24-4) in the semifinals on Saturday (May 16) at 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

  • The NCAA quarterfinals, semifinals and championship will stream on ESPN+.
  • Individual court streams will also be available on ESPN+.
  • Live scoring will be available.
  • Tickets are available for purchase online or in-person at the Magill Tennis Complex. Tickets are $22.

VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

  • The Cavaliers are looking for their seventh NCAA title. Virginia most recently won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2022 and 2023.
  • This is Virginia's 22nd-straight NCAA Championship appearance.
  • The Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in 19 of the last 20 championships, the quarterfinals in 19 of the last 21, the semifinals in 12 of the last 18 and played in eight of the last 14 finals.
  • Virginia is the No. 4 seed in this year’s tournament.
  • The Cavaliers hosted the Charlottesville Regional and Super Regional, defeating Rider, Columbia and South Carolina to punch their ticket to Athens.
  • Last year, Virginia advanced to the quarterfinals, the No. 7 Cavaliers narrowly falling 4-3 to then-No. 2 TCU.

CAVALIER NOTES

  • Virginia currently sits at No. 5 in the ITA team rankings. The Cavaliers have been ranked in the top five all season.
  • The Cavaliers finished as the runner-up in the ACC Men’s Tennis Championship for the third consecutive season.
  • Keegan Rice leads the team with a 33-5 record, going 19-2 in the dual match season. 
  • Junior Dylan Dietrich, the ACC Player of the Year and the current resident in the No. 1 spot in the ITA singles rankings, has recorded the most dual match singles victories this season. He enters the quarterfinals with a 21-1 mark on court one and a 26-4 record overall.
  • Måns Dahlberg has reached the 20-singles victory mark for the second straight year, heading into the quarterfinals with a 25-11 record. He has compiled a 14-5 dual match record playing on courts four through six.
  • Sophomores Stiles Brockett (23-13) and Jangjun Kim (23-9) have also hit the 20-win mark.
  • Stiles Brockett is 12-8 in dual match play on courts four through six.
  • Jangjun Kim is 14-6 in the spring on courts two through four.
  • Andres Santamarta Roig, the final ACC Freshman of the Week of this season (April 14), has compiled a 15-5 record in the spring season with four wins over ranked opponents.
  • Senior Douglas Yaffa currently sits on a 12-5 record, going 4-1 in dual matches on six. 
  • The Cavaliers have three other players appearing in the latest ITA singles rankings: Rice at No. 21, Santamarta Roig at No. 58 and Kim at No. 114.
  • As for doubles, reigning NCAA Doubles Champions Dahlberg and Dietrich are No. 12, Dietrich and Brockett are No. 17 and Dahlberg and Kim are No. 60.
  • Dahlberg and Dietrich, the Cavaliers' first doubles pairing this postseason, are 14-0 overall with a 2-0 mark in dual match play.
  • Santamarta Roig and Kim, the Cavaliers' third doubles pairing this postseason, are 4-2.
  • Rice and Brockett, the Cavaliers' third doubles pairing this postseason, hold a 5-2 mark.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE

  • The Cavaliers are 3-0 all-time against Mississippi State.
  • Virginia defeated Mississippi State 4-1 in the ITA Indoors Quarterfinals on February 14. 
  • Mississippi State went 25-5 (11-3 SEC) to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship and host the Starkville Regional and Super Regional, where they defeated Tennessee Tech, Wisconsin and Georgia.
  • The Bulldogs have a quintet of players in the ITA singles rankings: Benito Sanchez Martinez at nine, Petar Jovanovic at 13, Mario Martinez Serrano at 65, Niccolo Baroni at 93 and Bryan Hernandez Cortes at 120.
  • Sanchez Martinez is 19-4 on court one with a ten-match win streak.
  • Jovanovic is 15-4 on two, Martinez Serrano is 20-7 on three and four, Baroni is 13-4 on two through four and Hernandez Cortez is 14-7 on five and six with an 11-match win streak.
  • Mississippi State has two ranked doubles pairings: Sanchez Martinez and Jovanovic (8-8) at nine and Sanchez Martinez and Michal Novansky (4-1) at 19.