Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 4 Virginia men’s tennis team rallied to defeat Cal by a score of 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday at the Cary Tennis Park.

The second-seeded Cavaliers (21-3) advance to the semifinals, where they’ll face third-seeded Notre Dame at 10 a.m. Saturday (see updated bracket below).

Friday’s action began with the 10th-seeded Golden Bears (16-13) jumping out to a 1-0 advantage following a lopsided doubles point.

That lead grew to 2-0 with a swift victory for Cal on singles court four before No. 1 Dylan Dietrich got the Cavaliers on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win on the top court over No. 64 Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutynski. UVA sophomore Stiles Brockett, who used a 10-8 tiebreaker win to take his first set, cruised to a 6-2 second-set victory on court five to tie the match at 2-2.

With the remaining three matches all requiring third sets, two of which saw the Cavaliers battle back from dropped first sets, Cal reached the three-point mark first with a win on court three. However, No. 15 Keegan Rice promptly responded with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win on two to tie the match for UVA.

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!

The match came down to a third-set tiebreaker on court six, where senior Måns Dahlberg won 7-5 to complete his 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory and enable UVA to hold Cal’s upset bid.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The Cavaliers won both matches this season against Cal. Virginia previously won 4-1 in Berkeley, Calif., in regular-season action on March 6.
• No. 1 Dylan Dietrich has now won his last 10 completed matches.
• No. 14 Keegan Rice improves to 16-1 this season with wins in his last 12 completed matches.
• Stiles Brockett improves to 11-6 and Måns Dahlberg improves to 11-5.
• Virginia has played Notre Dame once this season, downing the Fighting Irish 4-1 in Charlottesville on April 3.
• The Cavaliers are looking for their 16th ACC title.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers take on Notre Dame in the ACC Men’s Tennis Championship semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Cary Tennis Park.

VIRGINIA 4, CALIFORNIA 3

Singles
1. #1 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #64 F Lechno-Wasiutynski (CAL) 7-5, 6-3
2. #15 Keegan Rice (VA) def. Timofey Stepanov (CAL) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Tiago Silva (CAL) def. #48 Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-4
4. Bernardo Munk Mesa (CAL) def. #124 Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-2, 7-5
5. Stiles Brockett (VA) def. Paris Pouatcha (CAL) 7-6 (10-8), 6-2
6. Måns Dahlberg (VA) def. Lenn Luemkemann (CAL) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)

Doubles
1. #33 Alex Aney/Timofey Stepanov (CAL) def. #45 Måns Dahlberg/Jangjun Kim (VA) 6-3
2. F Lechno-Wasiutynski/Tiago Silva (CAL) def. Dylan Dietrich/Andres Santamarta Roig (VA) 7-5
3. Keegan Rice/Stiles Brockett (VA) vs. Bernardo Munk Mesa/Paris Pouatcha (CAL) 5-5 UF
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)

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!