No. 4 Virginia delivered a confident semifinal performance Saturday at the Cary Tennis Park, defeating No. 24 Notre Dame 4-1 to punch its ticket to the 2026 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship final. The two-seeded Cavaliers (22-3, 12-1 ACC) overcame an early doubles deficit and won four consecutive singles courts in straight sets to dispatch the Fighting Irish (21-7, 9-4 ACC), the same opponent they had defeated 4-1 in regular season play just two weeks prior in Charlottesville.
The win also marked a milestone for head coach Andres Pedroso, who earned his 200th career victory with the result. Virginia will face top-seeded No. 7 Wake Forest Sunday at 10 a.m. for the final. The Cavaliers fell 4-2 to the then-No. 4 Demon Deacons (29-3, 12-1 ACC) March 22 in WInston Salem, N.C. in their lone ACC loss of the regular season, making Sunday’s final even more significant to the Cavaliers.
The doubles point played out very differently from the regular season meeting between the two programs, when Virginia had controlled the point from start to finish. On Saturday, it was Notre Dame that came out with urgency, clinching the point swiftly on the top two courts and never giving the Cavaliers a chance to respond.
On Court 2, the Fighting Irish’s No. 62 sophomore team of Luis Llorens Saracho and Peter Nad were sharp against junior Dylan Dietrich and freshman Andres Santamarta Roig, a pairing that Virginia debuted this April. Notre Dame kept serve in the opening game and never relinquished the lead, building a 5-2 advantage before Virginia clawed a break back to make it 5-3 for the Fighting Irish. But Llorens Saracho and Nad steadied immediately, winning the next game to close out the set 6-3.
Notre Dame then clinched the doubles point on Court 1, where senior Sebastian Dominko and graduate student Perry Gregg were efficient against the No. 45 ranked pairing of senior Mans Dahlberg and sophomore Jangjun Kim. Notre Dame kept serve in the opening game and built an early 2-0 lead. The score advanced for the Fighting Irish to 3-1 when Dominko and Gregg broke Dahlberg and Kim. The Cavaliers were able to hold serve, showing some fight in the middle of the set, but Dominko and Gregg had already established enough of a cushion. Though Dahlberg’s backhand slice disrupted Notre Dame’s rhythm at times, Dominko and Gregg were aggressive on the short balls, finishing points cleanly at the net and denying Virginia any momentum. They kept serve again, and closed out the set 6-3 on a deuce point to earn the doubles point.
On Court 3, sophomore pairing of Keegan Rice and Stiles Brockett were in a tight, back and forth battle with junior pairing of Chase Thompson and Evan Lee when the doubles point was decided and their match was left unfinished. The set had been close from the opening game, with both teams keeping serve. Rice and Brockett broke serve to gain a 3-1 lead before Notre Dame broke back to close the gap. The momentum had swung several times before the match was called with Virginia down 3-4 in the set, but at 40-15 on Lee and Thompson’s serve.
Dahlberg was first off the mark on Court 6, setting the tone with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Llorens Saracho, the same player who had helped Notre Dame claim the doubles point on Court 2 moments earlier. Llorens Saracho kept serve early to take a 1-0 lead, but Dahlberg won the next five games before Llorens Saracho was able to hold serve again. Llorens Saracho clawed back, threatening to level the set, but Dahlberg held his nerve on serve and closed out the set 6-4. In the second set, Dahlberg raced to a 5-0 lead. Llorens Saracho briefly put a halt to Dahlberg’s surge, winning two games, but the Swedish senior found his serve again and closed the set 6-2 in a dominant fashion. Throughout the second set, Dahlberg’s slice backhand kept Llorens Saracho pinned wide, allowing him to finish points with his clean forehand to even the dual at 1-1.
No. 124 Kim followed on Court 4, giving Virginia its first lead of the match with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 win over Nad, a reversal of their regular season result when Nad had defeated Kim in three sets after dropping the first. This time, Kim left no room for a comeback. In the first set, Kim won the opening game and never tailed, building a 3-0 lead before Nad kept serve to make it 3-1. Kim was aggressive from the baseline throughout, stepping into his forehand early to drive through Nad’s defensive shots and take time away before he could reset. In the second set, Kim was even more ruthless. He broke in the first game and again at 4-1, closing out the set 6-2 with clean tennis, putting the Cavaliers up 2-1.
No. 1 ranked singles player Dietrich then extended Virginia’s lead on Court 1, taking down No. 18 ranked Dominko 6-4, 6-2 — a cleaner result than their regular season meeting when Dietrich needed three sets to put Dominko away. The first set was competitive early with both players keeping serve to go back and forth in game points. The turning point occurred when Dietrich broke at 4-3, to gain the upperhand in order to close out the first set 6-4. As always, Dietrich was sharp on serve throughout, racking up a total of seven aces throughout the match. When Dominko tried to slow the pace and push the ball deep, Dietrich responded by redirecting aggressively with his inside-out forehand, denying Dominko the extended rallies he had used effectively in Charlottesville. The second set was even more dominant for Dietrich who climbed to a quick 5-2 lead, leaving Dominko with no foothold. The win extended his winning streak to 11 consecutive completed matches and improved his record to 18-1 in the season.
Sporting a headband and his usual energetic persona, No. 48 Santamarta Roig clinched the match for the Cavaliers on Court 3, defeating sophomore Giuseppe Cerasuolo 6-2, 6-4 in a hard fought performance. The first set saw Santamarta Roig take control early, winning the opening game and building a 3-0 lead before Cerasuolo began picking up games. Santamarta Roig responded immediately, closing out games definitively to close the set out 6-3. He was dangerous off both sides, mixing heavy topspin forehands crosscourt with off-pace shots to keep Cerasuolo guessing, and won 80 percent of his first serve points to keep the pressure firmly on. The second set was slightly tighter with both players holding serve to keep the set score tied. The critical point came at 5-4 when Santamarta Roig broke Cerasuolo’s serve. Santamarta Roig finished the match having won 54 percent of total points and outpacing Cerasuolo on serve points won, in a performance that improved him to 14-3 in the season and 8-2 on Court 3.
Two courts remained in play with the match already decided. Rice was in a competitive battle against No. 75 ranked Gregg on Court 2, having dropped the first set 5-7 before leading 3-2 in the second when play was halted. The result was a notable contrast from their regular season meeting, when Rice had closed out Gregg 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. On Saturday, Gregg was more aggressive, taking the first set by breaking Rice’s serve late and holding his nerve to close it out. Rice had begun to fight back in the second, leading 3-2, but he did not get the chance to see it through.
On Court 5, Brockett was in a similarly tight spot against junior Kyran Magimay, having dropped the first set 4-6 and sitting at 4-5 in the second when play was called. The match was shaping up as another hard fought contest, with Brockett trailing in the second and unable to find the same momentum he had shown in Charlottesville before the match was halted.
Virginia’s singles response after dropping the doubles point was as clean as it has been all season. The Cavaliers have now defeated Notre Dame twice this season, winning the singles side 4-1 in both meetings despite facing different doubles challenges each time. The win also gave Pedroso his 200th career victory, a milestone that speaks to the program he built under his tenure.
With a 16th ACC title on the line and a regular season score to settle, the Cavaliers now turn their attention to Sunday’s ACC Championship final against top-seeded Wake Forest at 10 a.m. Last spring, Virginia stunned the eventual national champions in this very tournament, handing the Demon Deacons their only loss of the year en route to the ACC Final. However, the question looming over Sunday’s final is whether Pedoros will return to more familiar doubles combinations against a Wake Forest side that excels in doubles play.
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