Men’s Tennis: Cavaliers defeat Gamecocks, 4-1, to move on to NCAA quarterfinals

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship with a 4-1 victory against South Carolina on Friday at the Virginia Tennis Facility.

South Carolina took the doubles point, but the Cavaliers (25-5) won singles courts two, three, four and six to take the match. Senior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won the clinching point for the Cavaliers.

The start of the match was delayed an hour due to rain. There were also two short rain delays during doubles and another in singles, but the two teams completed the match on the outdoor courts.

South Carolina (19-15) opened the contest with a 6-1 win on doubles court three. Seniors Chris Rodesch and von der Schulenburg evened it up with a 6-4 win on the top court. South Carolina won 6-4 on court two to take the point.

Virginia took four of six first sets in singles.

Sophomore Måns Dahlberg was the first to close out his match. He had taken the first set 6-1 against Lucas Da Silva. Dahlberg took the second set 7-5 to tie the match 1-1.

Senior Iñaki Montes won 6-3, 7-5 on court two to make it 2-1 Virginia.

Freshman Dylan Dietrich dropped his first set 6-2 against James Story on court three, but then powered through the second two sets 6-1, 6-2 to put UVA up 3-1.

Von der Schulenburg was down 5-1 in his first set against Sean Daryabeigi, but won six straight games to take it 7-5. He won the second set 6-3 to close out the victory.

The Cavaliers advance to the finals site, Oklahoma State’s Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla., where they will face Wake Forest in a quarterfinal match on Thursday, May 16.

 

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Congrats to the South Carolina Gamecocks. What a hard-fighting team. What a united team. And what a group of brothers. Once again, Josh Goffi and Johnny Parkes have done an unbelievable job with their team. So much respect for what they’ve done this season. They were really a tough out today and just a special program. Really proud of our guys in terms of the way we competed, especially after doubles. South Carolina just outplayed us in doubles today, and our guys were unfazed. You could see it on all the courts. Every guy was just locked in, and they knew what they had to do. We still had tough moments in the middle of singles, but they just stayed focused and stayed the course and that’s what this team does. So a good win for us. Our total focus now is on Stillwater.”

MATCH NOTES

• This is the 17th time in the last 19 NCAA tournaments that the Cavaliers have advanced to the quarterfinals
• Virginia is the No. 3 seed in the championship but is ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA team rankings
• South Carolina is No. 16 in the ITA Rankings but was unseeded in the tournament
• This was the second meeting of the year between Virginia and South Carolina. The two met on Jan. 21 in Charlottesville, with South Carolina pulling out a 4-3 victory. Virginia won the doubles point, but the Gamecocks took singles courts 1, 2, 4, and 5

VIRGINIA 4, SOUTH CAROLINA 1

Singles
1. #3 Chris Rodesch (VA) vs. #6 Toby Samuel (SC) 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
2. #33 Iñaki Montes (VA) def. #101 Casey Hoole (SC) 6-3, 7-5
3. #52 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #97 James Story (SC) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. #61 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (VA) def. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 7-5, 6-3
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) vs. Jelani Sarr (SC) 5-7, unfinished
6. Måns Dahlberg (VA) def. Lucas da Silva (SC) 6-1, 7-5

Doubles
1. Chris Rodesch/Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (VA) def. #43 Toby Samuel/James Story (SC) 6-4
2. Jelani Sarr/Lucas da Silva (SC) def. Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper (VA) 6-4
3. Sean Daryabeigi/Casey Hoole (SC) def. Dylan Dietrich/Alexander Kiefer (VA) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,3,4)

STILLWATER BOUND!!! ELITE EIGHT!!#NCAATennis #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/wjqTBuWhLS

— Virginia Men’s Tennis (@UVAMensTennis) May 10, 2024