For two months, Wake Forest had been Virginia’s roadblock.
Twice this spring, the Demon Deacons (34-4, 12-1 ACC) handed the Cavaliers (27-4, 12-1 ACC) painful 4-2 losses, first ending Virginia’s unbeaten ACC run in Winston-Salem, then denying them an ACC Championship title in Cary. Wake Forest had dominated doubles all season, carried a 27-match doubles point streak into Saturday night, and looked every bit like the defending national champions Virginia simply could not solve.
And for the first hour of the NCAA semifinal, it looked like the same story all over again.
Then Virginia flipped everything.
Behind furious comeback wins across the lineup, No. 4 Virginia rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat No. 1 Wake Forest 4-3 Saturday afternoon, advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2023.
The Cavaliers had to beat not only the top seed in the country, but the one team that had repeatedly broken their hearts this spring.
And they did it in dramatic fashion.
Wake Forest immediately established control in doubles, playing with the same aggressive identity that had defined its entire season. The Demon Deacons attacked relentlessly at the net and pressured Virginia from the opening point.
On Court 1, Wake Forest’s No. 1-ranked pairing of freshman Andrew Delgado and senior DK Suresh Ekambaram faced No. 12 Virginia pairing of senior Måns Dahlberg and junior Dylan Dietrich. Dahlberg and Dietrich fought to stay alive repeatedly after falling behind an early break, saving multiple match points while serving down 2-5. Dalgado’s left-handed serve consistently created problems, while Suresh Ekambaram’s quick hands at the net shut down rallies before Virginia could establish baseline exchanges. Eventually, Wake Forest closed out the match 6-3 with a down-the-line winner to put the Demon Deacons within one court of the doubles point.
Court 2 featured sophomore Jangjun Kim and freshman Andres Santamarta Roig against freshman Mees Rottgering and sophomore Kacper Szymkowiak. Wake Forest's returning proved overwhelming early on, with Kim and Santamarta Roig repeatedly pressured in their service games. Kim responded aggressively from the baseline, firing returns down the line at the net player, while Santamarta Roig poached whenever possible. Virginia even earned a critical break point opportunity trailing 3-5, but Wake Forest held firm. Moments later, Rottgering ripped a forehand winner past Santamarta Roig to clinch a 6-4 victory and secure the doubles point for Wake Forest.
On Court 3, the sophomore pairing of Keegan Rice and Stiles Brockett battled Wake Forest freshman Aryan Shah and junior Luca Pow. The match stayed tight deep in the set, but Wake Forest’s energy and net pressure eventually created separation. Shah and Pow led 5-3 before Virginia managed to hold serve to stay alive. The match ultimately went unfinished at 5-4 once Wake Forest clinched the doubles point elsewhere.
The early deficit looked especially dangerous considering Wake Forest’s dominance after doubles all season.
The Demon Deacons immediately carried momentum into singles, taking five of six first sets. Only Kim managed to strike first for Virginia, grinding out a 7-5 opening set victory over No. 28 Pow on Court 3 with relentless movement and aggressive shotmaking from the baseline.
But trouble surfaced nearly everywhere else.
On Court 1, No. 1 ranked Dietrich dropped the first set 6-2 to No. 27 Suresh Ekambaram, struggling early with the Wake Forest senior’s attacking gamestyle. On Court 2, No. 38 Rottgering controlled rallies against No. 21 Rice, taking the opening set 6-4. Court 4 saw No. 125 Shah overpower No. 58 Santamarta Roig early to claim the first set 6-3, while Court 5’s sophomore Joaquine Guilleme earned a 6-3 win against Brockett. On Court 6, Szymkowiak defeated Dahlberg 6-4 in the first set.
Suddenly, Virginia stood on the edge. Then the comeback began.
Dietrich completely flipped the energy of the match first. After dropping the opening set, the junior stormed through the second set 6-0 against Suresh Ekambaram, overwhelming the Wake Forest star with heavy forehands and suffocating consistency from the baseline. The turnaround happened almost instantly, with Dietrich racing into the third set minutes after Kim finished his own first set. Dietrich eventually completed the comeback with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory, improving to 23-1 in dual match singles and tying the match 1-1.
But Wake Forest responded immediately.
The Demon Deacons regained control with straight set victories on Court 6 and 2. Szymkowiak defeated Dahlberg 6-4, 6-2 on Court 6, while Rottgering closed out Rice 6-4, 6-3 on Court 2. Within minutes, Virginia trailed 3-1 overall and stood one point away from elimination.
At that moment, every remaining match belonged to the Cavaliers’ underclassmen. And they delivered.
On Court 5, Brockett refused to let Virginia’s season end. After losing the first set 6-3, the sophomore raised his level, feeding off the crowd and extending rallies deeper into games. Brockett, who had struggled at times to find his rhythm throughout the season, chose the biggest moment of the year to deliver some of his best tennis. He edged the second set in a tiebreak 7-2, then rode that momentum into the third. His movement improved dramatically, his forehand became more aggressive, and his confidence visibly surged with every game. Brockett eventually closed out a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory to bring Virginia to 2-3.
One of the match’s defining moments came late in the third sets on Courts 3 and 4. At almost the exact moment, both Kim and Santamarta Roig stood with match points, each trying to keep Virginia’s season alive against the defending national champions.
Kim struck first, forcing pressure onto Pow deep into the deciding set after completely changing the emotional energy of the match. Normally a quieter presence in Virginia’s lineup, Kim played with a level of outward emotion rarely seen from him all season, repeatedly roaring toward the crowd after big points and feeding off the atmosphere late in the third set.
“It feels amazing,” Kim said about competing in front of the packed crowd. “There is a big crowd to support us. It kind of made me nervous, but it feels amazing.”
Kim also credited Coach Andres Pedroso for helping bring that intensity out of him.
“He wakes me up at the beginning of the match, and it works really well,” Kim said. “I love how he’s tough on me and teaches me mentally. He is just with me every day.”
Then came match point. Pow stepped to the line to serve, but under immense pressure, Pow double faulted. The Cavaliers had tied the match 3-3.
Only Santamarta Roig remained.
Just feet away on Court 4, the freshman was still locked in a physical battle with Shah. Santamarta Roig had slowly worn Shah down over the course of the third set through side-to-side movement and long rallies, forcing Shah to defend corner to corner. With the entire NCAA semifinal now resting solely on his court, Santamarta Roig closed out a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory moments later, clinching Virginia’s comeback and sending the Cavaliers into the NCAA Championship final.
For a Virginia team that spent the entire spring chasing Wake Forest, Saturday felt larger than just a semifinal victory. Yet behind comeback victories from Dietrich, Brockett, Kim and Santamarta Roig, Virginia finally broke through against its biggest obstacle of the year, proving exactly why Virginia has embraced the nickname “Cardiac Cavs.”
“We knew it was going to be a war,” Pedroso said after. “These guys came out and just kind of withstood what Wake Forest threw at us for the first half hour. We’ve been talking about it all year, and we talked about it last night, just weathering storms, playing complete matches, and taking pride in how we compete."
Now, after surviving one of the season’s most dramatic matches, the Cavaliers will face Texas Sunday afternoon. Virginia and Texas met earlier this season, with the Cavaliers earning a 4-1 road victory in January. After eliminating the defending national champions, Virginia will now have the opportunity to compete for the program’s seventh national championship.
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