Men’s Tennis: Hoos punch ticket to ACC semis with 4-2 win against Cal

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 6 Virginia men’s tennis team picked up a 4-2 win over No. 10 Cal in the quarterfinals of the 2025 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday at the Cary Tennis Park.

Junior Mans Dahlberg clinched the victory for the Cavaliers (19-6) on court six, avenging Virginia’s loss to the Golden Bears (18-4) in the regular season.

The 5-seed Cavaliers advance to the semifinals where they will face the top-seed and No. 1 team in the ITA Team Rankings Wake Forest (34-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. The match will air on ACCNX.

Freshmen Rafael Jódar and Roy Horovitz opened the match with a 6-3 victory on doubles court three. Dahlberg and sophomore Dylan Dietrich followed with a 6-4 win on the top doubles court, clinching the doubles point for the Hoos.

The Golden Bears tied the match with a straight set win on court five.

Shortly after, Jódar put the Hoos back up front, picking up a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 16 Carl Emil Overbeck on the top singles court.

Cal tied the match again with another straight set win on court three.

Dietrich retook the lead for Virginia, coming away with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court two over No. 74 Alex Chang to put the Cavaliers up 3-2.

Dahlberg closed out the win for the Hoos on court six. He won a narrow opening set 7-5 and got the crucial break up 4-3 in the second, holding on to win 7-5, 6-4 against Bernardo Munk Mesa to clinch the victory.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The Cavaliers won the second matchup of the season against Cal. The Golden Bears won 4-3 in Charlottesville in the regular season on March 21
• Roy Horovitz and Rafael Jódar picked up their first win as a doubles team this season
• Jódar recorded his 16th straight singles win (in a completed match), improving to 16-1 on the season
• Dylan Dietrich improves to 9-1 on court two this season
• Mans Dahlberg logged his seventh straight singles win
• Wake Forest defeated the Cavaliers in the regular season 4-1 in Charlottesville on March 9
• The Cavaliers are looking for their 16th ACC title

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Congrats to the Cal Bears. They gave a great effort today and competed hard like always. They’re so well coached. I’m proud of our guys. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow. Another ACC semifinal for this program. Our guys will be ready. We’re really looking forward to the opportunity.”

VIRGINIA 4, CALIFORNIA 2

Singles
1. #6 Rafael Jódar (VA) def. #16 Carl Emil Overbeck (CAL) 6-4, 6-2
2. #26 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #74 Alex Chang (CAL) 6-4, 6-4
3. #55 Theo Dean (CAL) def. James Hopper (VA) 6-4, 6-3
4. Timofey Stepanov (CAL) vs. Jangjun Kim (VA) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
5. Derrick Chen (CAL) def. Roy Horovitz (VA) 6-1, 6-3
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Bernardo Munk Mesa (CAL) 7-5, 6-4

Doubles
1. #30 Dylan Dietrich/Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. #34 Carl Emil Overbeck/Theo Dean (CAL) 6-4
2. Derrick Chen/Alex Chang (CAL) vs. #23 James Hopper/Keegan Rice (VA) 5-6, unfinished
3. Rafael Jódar/Roy Horovitz (VA) def. Mikey Wright/Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski (CAL) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,1,3,2,6)