ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Dylan Dietrich, the top-ranked singles player in the nation, rallied for a three-set victory over Sebastian Gorzny in the final match, and fourth-seeded Virginia beat No. 2 seed Texas 4-3 on Sunday to win the program’s seventh NCAA men’s tennis championship.
Gorzny (ranked No. 3) took a two-game lead in the third set but Dietrich got back-to-back service breaks — the second on a double fault for a 4-3 lead. Dietrich went on two post a 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory to clinch Virginia’s first national championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2022-23.
The Cavaliers beat Texas 4-1 in Austin on Jan. 18 and lead the series with Texas 15-3.
Virginia’s Jangjun Kim beat Sebastian Eriksson 6-1, 7-6(9) at No. 3 to pull the Cavaliers even at 3-3.
Keegan Rice beat Kalin Ivanovski 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2, and Stiles Brockett won 6-4, 6-4 against Abel Forger at No. 5 for Virginia.
Oliver Ojakaar beat Andres Santamarta Roig 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4, and Lucas Marionneau topped Mans Dahlberg 6-3, 7-5 for the Longhorns.
Texas won the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, while the Cavaliers won at No. 1.
The Longhorns have advanced to four straight Final Fours and two of the past three championships. Texas won the program’s only national title in 2019.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
