Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team rallied for a 4-2 victory over Columbia on Saturday at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort. The win sends the Cavaliers to the Super Regional of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship.

Virginia (24-4) will square off next against No. 13 seed South Carolina in the Super Regional. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers will host the Gamecocks next weekend, on Friday, May 8, or Saturday, May 9.

After Columbia took doubles court two, the Cavaliers responded with a 6-2 win on the top court from No. 12 Dylan Dietrich and Måns Dahlberg. The battle for the doubles point came down to the third court, which the Lions narrowly won 6-4.

Singles action began with Columbia (17-8) expanding its lead to 2-0 following a 6-2, 6-4 victory on court five.

No. 21 Keegan Rice got the Hoos on the board, downing No. 45 Nicolas Kotzen 7-5, 6-3, while the remainder of the matches headed to third sets.

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

No. 58 Andres Santamarta Roig and No. 114 Jangjun Kim both dropped their first sets 6-4, recovered to take their second sets and won their third sets 6-2. Santamarta Roig finished first, tying the match score at 2-2 before Kim gave Virginia its first lead of the evening.

No. 1 Dylan Dietrich, who dropped his first set in a 7-6 (8-6) tiebreaker, won his second set against No. 5 Michael Zheng 6-3 to force his third. Dietrich prevailed 6-4 in the third to clinch the match for the Cavaliers.

MATCH NOTES

  • Virginia is the No. 4 seed in the tournament and the No. 5 team in the ITA team rankings.
  • The Cavaliers are 7-1 all-time against Columbia.
  • Virginia has downed Columbia twice this season, as the Cavaliers defeated the Lions 6-1 on January 30 in Charlottesville.
  • Rice leads the team with a 32-5 record, going 18-2 in singles this spring.
  • Dietrich improves to 21-1 on court one this spring.
  • Santamarta has compiled a 15-4 record in the spring season with five wins over ranked opponents.
  • Kim improves to 13-6.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Just an incredible fight by the Columbia Lions. That team always fights. They are so well coached. We played them in the regional so many times, and they always give us a war. So congrats to that team on an amazing season.

“And I’m just really proud of this team. These guys just fight until the end. They’ve done it all season. We’ve been down many times this season, and these guys just don’t give up. So they always give themselves a chance. I am really proud of their fight ,and let’s keep it going.”

UP NEXT

Virginia will host South Carolina in a Super Regional next weekend, either Friday, May 8, or Saturday, May 9. Click here to see the interactive NCAA bracket.

VIRGINIA 4, COLUMBIA 2

Singles
1. #1 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #5 Michael Zheng (COL) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-4
2. #21 Keegan Rice (VA) def. #45 Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 7-5, 6-3
3. #58 Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) def. #101 Sachin Palta (COL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. #114 Jangjun Kim (VA) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (COL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Abhishket Thorat (COL) def. Stiles Brockett (VA) 6-2, 6-4
6. Måns Dahlberg (VA) vs. Aditya Govila (COL) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 2-0 UF

Doubles
1. #12 Måns Dahlberg/Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Michael Zheng/Nicolas Kotzen (COL) 6-2
2. Andrew Ena/Sachin Palta (COL) def. Andres Santamarta Roig/Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-0
3. Thanaphat Boosarawongse/Abhishket Thorat (COL) def. Stiles Brockett/Keegan Rice (VA) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,3,4,1)
T-3:15 A-540

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

   Navigating: Tennis

Women’s Tennis: No. 7 Virginia records 4-0 win in NCAA first round against Saint Francis

(updated )

The No. 7 Virginia women’s tennis team won, 4-0, over Saint Francis to advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship.