Virginia Men's Tennis Beats South Carolina 4-1, Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals

Matt Newton | May 10, 2024

Virginia men's tennis celebrates after defeating South Carolina in the Super Regional Round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship at Boar's Head in Charlottesville. / Virginia Athletics

For the 17th time in the last 19 NCAA Tournaments, Virginia men's tennis has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. The Cavaliers bounced back after dropping the doubles point with strong singles play across the board, powering No. 3 Virginia (25-5) to a 4-1 victory over South Carolina (19-15) in the Super Regional round of the 2024 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship on Friday in Charlottesville.

After rain delayed the start of the match by an hour, the Gamecocks proved to be the better team in doubles play, as Sean Daryabeigi and Casey Hoole handily defeated Dylan Dietrich and Alexander Kiefer 6-1 on court 3. UVA recovered on court 1 with Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg beating Toby Samuel and James Story 6-4. That left things to be decided on court 2, where Jelani Sarr and Lucas da Silva defeated Edoardo Graziani and James Hopper 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for South Carolina.

Mans Dahlberg was the first to record a point for the Cavaliers, beating Lucas da Silva 6-1, 7-5 on court 6. Inaki Montes put UVA in front with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Casey Hoole on court 2 and then Dylan Dietrich won a three-set match against James Story 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 on court 3 to make it 3-1 in favor of Virginia. Jeffrey von der Schulenburg clinched the victory for UVA, posting a 7-5, 6-3 win over Sean Daryabeigi on court 4.

Chris Rodesch and Toby Samuel, who are both ranked in the top 10 in the ITA men's singles rankings, were tied at three games apiece in the third set and Alexander Kiefer was trailing Jelani Sarr on court 5 when play was suspended.

"Really proud of our guys in terms of the way we competed, especially after doubles," said UVA head coach Andres Pedroso. "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.”

With the win, Virginia avenged an earlier loss to South Carolina this season, as the Gamecocks defeated the Cavaliers in a 4-3 thriller back on January 21st in Charlottesville.

Another familiar foe awaits UVA in the quarterfinals, as Virginia is set to face ACC rival Wake Forest on Thursday, May 16th at Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cavaliers defeated the Demon Deacons 4-3 back on March 1st in Charlottesville.