No. 3 Virginia took a trip to the West Coast over Spring Break, defeating No. 48 California 4-1 Friday at the Hellman Tennis Complex before sweeping No. 21 Stanford 4-0 Sunday at the Arrillaga Tennis Center-Taube Pavilion. The pair of ranked victories continued the Cavaliers’ (12-2, 4-0 ACC) strong start to conference play and provided a sharp contrast to last season’s meeting with the two programs, when Virginia split results against the Golden Bears (9-7, 2-2 ACC) and Cardinal (9-5, 2-2 ACC).
Friday’s matchup against California began with a strong showing in doubles.
The No. 9-ranked doubles pair of junior Dylan Dietrich and sophomore Stiles Brockett quickly set the tone at Line 1. The duo controlled the net early and pressured California’s returns to earn multiple breaks, closing out the No. 70 ranked pair of senior Tiago Silva and junior Timofey Stepanov 6-2.
The Golden Bears, however, answered at Line 3, where sophomore Bernardo Munk Mesa and sophomore Paris Pouatcha defeated sophomore Keegan Rice and freshman Andres Santamarta Roig 6-1. The Golden Bears capitalized on attacking the Cavaliers’ serves and forced several errors to even the doubles matches.
The doubles point ultimately came down to Line 2. Sophomore Jangjun Kim and senior Mans Dahlberg, ranked No. 37 nationally, held steady in their match against junior Alex Aney and sophomore Fryderyk Lechno-Wasiutyski. The Cavaliers earned a crucial break midway through the set and protected their serve the rest of the way, securing the doubles point with a 6-2 victory.
Virginia sustained that momentum into singles play. On Court 2, No. 14 Rice delivered the Cavaliers’ first singles point with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 victory over Stepanov. Rice controlled the baseline exchanges throughout the match, using his forehand to open the court before closing points efficiently at the net.
Soon after, No. 28 Santamarta Roig added another quick result on Court 3. Santamarta Roig dictated rallies from the start against Silva, racing through the first set 6-0 before staying steady, though dropping some games, to win 6-3 and extend Virginia’s lead to 3-0.
The Golden Bears earned their lone point of the dual on Court 4, where Munk Mesa defeated No. 84 Kim 6-3, 6-4. Munk Mesa played aggressively from the baseline and held serve consistently, preventing Kim from finding a rhythm.
Several other matches were still in progress at the time, including a tightly contested battle on Court 6 between Brockett and junior Lenn Luemkemann. Brockett claimed the opening set 6-2 with aggressive returning but dropped the second 3-6 after Luemkemann found greater consistency. In the deciding set, Brockett regained full control, racing through a dominant 6-0 third set to clinch the 4-1 victory for Virginia.
At the time of the clinch, two matches remained unfinished. On Court 1, top-ranked Dietrich was locked in a competitive match with Lechno-Wasiutyski, having taken the first set 7-5 before dropping the second 3-6 and leading 4-2 in the third. Had this match continued and Dietrich lost, it would have marked his first singles loss after being named No. 1 in the country, and his second singles loss of the season.
On Court 5, Dahlberg was also in a tight contest with Pouatcha, trailing 4-6 in the first set before rallying to take the second 6-3 and leading 3-2 in the decider before play was suspended.
Virginia carried the momentum it had built against California into Sunday’s matchup against No. 21 Stanford.
The doubles point again proved pivotal, though the Cavaliers had to rally after dropping the opening match.
On Court 1, Stanford’s No. 12 ranked pair of graduate student Alex Chang and sophomore Alex Razeghi defeated Dietrich and Brockett 6-2, controlling the match with aggressive net play and early breaks.
Virginia responded on Court 3, where Rice and Santamarta Roig delivered a steady 6-4 victory over junior Hudson Rivera and freshman Mark Krupkin. The Cavaliers earned a late break to move ahead and held serve to even the doubles matches.
With the point on the line, Court 2 featured a tight battle between Kim and Dahlberg and Stanford’s junior Nico Godsick and freshman Jagger Leach. The teams traded holds throughout the set before Virginia edged ahead in the tiebreak, with Kim and Dahlberg winning that 7-3 to secure the doubles point.
Though the doubles win was tightly contested, singles play saw Virginia quickly turn that dual in its favor.
On Court 1, Dietrich faced Stanford’s senior Samir Banerjee and controlled the match from the start. Dietrich captured the first set 6-2 behind strong serving and aggressive forehands. The second set tightened, but Dietrich held firm in the tiebreak, winning 7-6 (5) to give Virginia a 2-0 advantage in the dual.
Rice followed shortly on Court 2 with another composed performance. Facing No. 58 Rivera, the sophomore maintained steady pressure from the baseline and secured key service breaks in both sets, earning a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The clinching point came on Court 4 from Kim, who faced Stanford’s Leach. After dropping the opening set 6-2, Kim adjusted his approach, extending rallies and forcing errors from his opponent. The shift paid off as he captured the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to seal the 4-0 match victory.
Three additional singles matches remained unfinished when the clinch occurred.
On Court 3, Santamarta Roig had dropped a first-set tiebreak to Chang but led 5-3 in the second set. Brockett was battling Razeghi on Court 5 after splitting sets, while Dahlberg and Godsick were locked in a second set battle on Court 6.
The weekend sweep also reversed last season’s result between the programs. In 2025, Virginia fell 4-3 to the Golden Bears before rebounding with a 4-2 win over Stanford. This year, the Cavaliers left California undefeated, demonstrating improved depth and composure across the lineup.
The Cavaliers will return to Charlottesville next weekend to continue ACC play, hosting No. 43 Duke on Friday and No. 57 North Carolina on Sunday.
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