Michigan
Virginia
U-M Unable to Build Off Doubles Win in Opening-Round Loss at ITA Nationals
2/14/2025 2:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Dallas, Texas (Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex)
Score: #5 Virginia 4, #20 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (4-3), Virginia (7-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 15 -- at ITA National Indoor Championship (Dallas, Texas), TBA
DALLAS, Texas -- Another big doubles point highlighted the opening match of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the No. 20-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team; however, it wasn't enough as the Wolverines fell, 4-2, to No. 5-ranked Virginia on Friday (Feb. 14) at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on SMU's campus.
Utilizing two new double pairings, Michigan earned two wins over ranked duos. Benjamin Kittay teamed up with Will Cooksey at No. 1 for the first time. The pair collected two breaks to take a 6-2 match from No. 65 Keegan Rice and James Hopper. Alex Cairo and Gavin Young faced a ranked pair in their first match together. No. 75-ranked Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich pushed the Wolverines, who took a 5-1 lead before winning four straight games to hold off match point and set the score at 5-5. The teams held serve for the final three games to send the match into a tiebreaker. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 3-1 advantage and after they led 4-2 the Wolverines took over -- taking the next five points to win it 7-6 (7-4).
UV evened things early in singles with No. 26 ranked Dietrich winning straight sets off No. 87 Kittay.
Bjorn Swenson put Michigan back on top with his win over No. 103 Rice at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-3.
No. 44-ranked Jodar topped No. 109-ranked Young at No. 1, 6-3, 6-2 before the Cavs got another win at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 7-6 (2) to take the lead in the team score, 3-2.
Dahlberg clinched at No. 5 as he rallied from down a set to No. 117-ranked Hanchaikul to win, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Michigan has two more guaranteed matches at the ITAs, with one on Saturday (Feb. 15). Its opponent and match time in the back draw has yet to be determined.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 – No. 44 Rafael Jodar (UV) d. No. 109 Gavin Young (U-M) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – No. 26 Dylan Dietrich (UV) d. No. 87 Benjamin Kittay (U-M) 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 – James Hopper (UV) vs. Will Cooksey (U-M) 7-6 (7), 5-2 abandoned
No. 4 – Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. No. 103 Keegan Rice (UV) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 – Mans Dahlberg (UV) d. No. 117 Patorn Hanchaikul (U-M) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 – Jangjun Kim (UV) d. Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Doubles
No. 1 – Benjamin Kittay/Will Cooksey (U-M) d. No. 65 Keegan Rice/James Hopper (UV) 6-2
No. 2 – Alex Cairo/Gavin Young (U-M) d. No. 75 Mans Dahlberg/Dylan Dietrich (UV) 7-6 (4)
No. 3 – Mert Oral/Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. Jangjun Kim/Rafael Jodar (UV) 6-5 abandoned
Order of Completion:Â Doubles 1-2; Singles 2-4-1-5-6
Players Mentioned
