Men’s Tennis: Third-ranked UVA upended at No. 16 Kentucky, 4-3

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Posted on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, 8:21 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

The No. 3 Virginia men’s tennis team fell 4-3 at No. 16 Kentucky on Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington.

The Cavaliers (5-3) won the doubles point and No. 2 singles to take a 2-0 lead, but Kentucky took four straight singles courts for the victory.

Kentucky (6-1) opened the match with a 6-2 win on the top doubles court, but freshman Dylan Dietrich and senior Alexander Kiefer evened it with a 6-3 win at three. Senior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg and sophomore Douglas Yaffa clinched the point with a 6-4 victory at two.

Dietrich put the Cavaliers ahead 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Jack Loutit. Kentucky picked up straight-set wins on courts three and four to even the match and then took a three-setter on the top court to clinch the victory.

Sophomore Måns Dahlberg added a third point for the Cavaliers with a win on court six. After dropping his first set against Christophe Clement, 6-4, he rebounded with a 6-3 win in the second. He took the third-set tiebreaker 10-3 to earn the point.

For the second straight match, Virginia was without its top two singles players. Senior Chris Rodesch was competing in a Davis Cup tie in Colombia, and senior Iñaki Montes was sidelined with an injury.

Virginia defeated Kentucky in the 2023 NCAA Quarterfinals, 4-3, and in the 2022 NCAA Championship final, 4-0.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“All the credit to the Kentucky Wildcats today. They competed hard all the way down their lineup, with no exceptions, and they had a great crowd today, which probably helped their cause a bit. It was a hard-fought match, a fair match, and one we will learn from as a team. I know our guys will respond. It’s only a matter of hard work, self-reflection and time.”

UP NEXT

Virginia returns home to host No. 20 Georgia on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

KENTUCKY 4, VIRGINIA 3

Singles
1. Taha Baadi (UK) def. #26 Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (VA) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
2. Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Jack Loutit (UK) 6-3, 6-2
3. Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Alexander Kiefer (VA) 6-4, 6-2
4. Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Edoardo Graziani (VA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Eli Stephenson (UK) def. James Hopper (VA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Måns Dahlberg (VA) def. Christophe Clement (UK) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3)

Doubles
1. Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper (VA) 6-2
2. Jeffrey von der Schulenburg/Douglas Yaffa (VA) def. Eli Stephenson/Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-4
3. Dylan Dietrich/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Taha Baadi/Jack Loutit (UK) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,4,1,5,6)