ATHENS, Ga. – The fourth-seeded Virginia men’s tennis team (27-4) completed a comeback for the ages against top-seeded Wake Forest (34-4) on Saturday (May 16) at the Magill Tennis Complex. The 4-3 win sends the Cavaliers to the championship match of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship.
The Cavaliers will face second-seeded Texas in the championship on Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m. The two teams have already squared off once this season, Virginia defeating the Longhorns 4-1 in nonconference action on January 18 in Austin, Texas.
Wake Forest began Saturday's action with a continuation of its doubles dominance. The Demon Deacons hadn't dropped a doubles point all season, and that trend continued as the Cavaliers fell into an early 1-0 deficit.
Wake Forest remained hot heading into singles, taking five of six first sets.
No. 1 Dylan Dietrich, who dropped his first set on court one 6-2 to No. 27 DK Suresh Ekambaram, stormed back to take his second set 6-0. Dietrich’s second-set victory was swift, as he forced his third set within minutes of No. 114 Jangjun Kim wrapping up his first set. Kim’s 7-5 first-set win over No. 28 Luca Pow on court three was the only first-set victory for the Cavaliers.
On the remaining courts, all in second sets, the Demon Deacons were leading.
Although Dietrich finished first, tying the match score at 1-1 with his 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 win, Wake Forest followed closely with a pair of straight-set wins on courts two and six to bring the score to 3-1.
No. 58 Andres Santamarta Roig on court four and sophomore Stiles Brockett on court five injected life into the Cavaliers, both taking their second sets in tiebreakers to force thirds. Additionally, Kim's opponent prevailed in the second, meaning all three remaining courts would be decided by third sets.
With Wake Forest needing just one win to clinch, the Cavaliers played relentless tennis. Brockett finished first, winning 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 against Joaquin Guilleme to bring the score to 3-2. Kim then defeated Pow 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to tie it up before Santamarta provided the clincher with his 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over No. 125 Aryan Shah.
FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO
"We knew it was going to be a war. The doubles point was pretty irrelevant. We definitely went for it, but it didn’t go our way. These guys came out and just kind of withstood what Wake Forest threw at us for the first half hour. We’ve been talking about it all year, and we talked about it last night, just weathering storms, playing complete matches, and taking pride in how we compete."
FROM SOPHOMORE JANGJUN KIM
On playing in front of the crowd at Dan Magill Tennis Complex: “It feels amazing. There is a big crowd to support us. It kind of made me nervous, but it feels amazing.”
On his favorite part of playing for Coach Pedroso: "He wakes me up at the beginning of the match, and it works really well. I love how he’s tough on me and teaches me mentality. He is just with me every day.”
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia is the No. 4 seed in the tournament and the No. 5 team in the ITA team rankings.
- Wake Forest was the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the No. 1 team in the ITA team rankings, as well as the defending national champions.
- Wake Forest had defeated the Cavaliers twice already this season, claiming a 4-2 win in the regular season and a 4-2 win in the ACC Championship final.
- The Cavaliers are looking for their seventh team title. Virginia most recently won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2022 and 2023.
- The Cavaliers advance to the finals for the ninth time in the last 15 championships.
- Dietrich has the most singles wins in the dual match season, going 23-1 on court one.
- Kim improves to 24-9 with a 15-6 mark in the spring.
- Brockett is 24-14 with a 13-9 record on courts four through six.
- Santamarta Roig improves to 17-5 on primarily courts three and four.
#4 Virginia 4, #1 Wake Forest 3
Singles competition
1. #1 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #27 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
2. #38 Mees Rottgering (WF) def. #21 Keegan Rice (VA) 6-4, 6-3
3. #114 Jangjun Kim (VA) def. #28 Luca Pow (WF) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
4. #58 Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) def. #125 Aryan Shah (WF) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
5. Stiles Brockett (VA) def. Joaquin Guilleme (WF) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
6. Kacper Szymkowiak (WF) def. Mans Dahlberg (VA) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #1 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Andrew Delgado (WF) def. #12 Mans Dahlberg/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 6-3
2. Mees Rottgering/Kacper Szymkowiak (WF) def. Andres Santamarta Roig/Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-4
3. Luca Pow/Aryan Shah (WF) vs. Stiles Brockett/Keegan Rice (VA) 5-4 UF
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,2,5,3,4)