CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – After five matches in which he did not lose a single set, Virginia tennis’s Dylan Dietrich took home his first ever ATP Challenger Title at the ATP 75 Colombus Challenger on Sunday.
Dietrich bested former Ohio State player JJ Wolf, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, to open his slate. Andrew Fenty then suffered the same fate at Dietrich’s hand, before the UVa standout took out the tournament’s highest seed, Darwin Blanch, the 163rd ranked player in the World, in the quarterfinal after Blanch retired in set two. World No. 177 Andy Andrade similarly could not measure up to Dietrich, which set up a final appearance against Abdullah Shellbayh.
Shellbayh took a total of just five points of Dietrich in the final, and the Virginia fourth year took the top step of the podium for the first time in his career.
Soccer
No. 15 women’s soccer hosted Syracuse for Senior Night on Saturday. A large portion of Virginia’s core was honored before the match including goalkeeper Allie Ross, center back Tatum Galvin, midfielders Jill Flammia and Ella Carter, and forwards Aniyah Collier and Allie Ross, as well as newcomer grad transfer Faith Broering, were recognized pre-match.
When the match began, it was the young stars of the Cavaliers who put Virginia in control of the game early, with Gio Canali striking in the 9th minute to give them a 1-0 lead.
In the 80th minute, Collier, who missed two years of her collegiate career following a standout freshman season, hammered home a goal to double the Wahoos’ lead after making a well-timed run into the Orange’s box.
Four minutes later, second year forward Jordyn Hardeman rattled the twine with a long-range strike to make it 3-0 Virginia, before stepping up a minute later to make Syracuse pay for a costly handball, scoring the first brace of her career to make it 4-0.
Men’s soccer faced Virginia Tech the day before, on Friday, and went behind 2-0 early at the hands of the Hokies. Marco Dos Santos was able to grab a goal late into the second half after the Cavaliers settled down, but Virginia as unable to secure a point against their rivals, dropping the contest 2-1.
Field Hockey
The No. 11 Cavaliers headed to the West Coast to face the conference’s two California squads this past weekend. Against Stanford on Friday, the two teams traded goals back and forth in the first half, with the score standing a 2-2 during the interval. Virginia came out swinging in the second half, with Mia Abello, Riley Savage, and Rylee Dennis capitulating the Cavaliers out to a 5-2 advantage that ended the contest over the Cardinal.
Goals were much harder to come by in Sunday’s matchup with No. 20 California. Abello scored early to give Virginia an early lead, but both defenses stood firm until Josefina Moyano equalized for the Golden Bears. Virginia keeper Nilou Lempers made 15 saves throughout the contest, but the game could not be decided to regulation. In overtime, Cal’s Liz Klompmaker blasted the game winner home to give the Bears the 2-1 victory.
Volleyball
Virginia’s tough season continued on the West Coast this weekend, starting with a 3-1 loss against California on Friday. The Cavaliers held a lead in each of the first two sets but were unable to take victories in either, falling 25-21 and 25-22. Virginia got on the board in the third set with a spirited 25-23 triumph, but trailed for the entirety of set four, falling short 25-23.
The road trip ended with a three-set sweep against No. 13 Stanford. The Cavaliers kept things close in the second set, falling 25-23, but dropped the first and third sets by double-digits, 25-12 and 25-13 respectively.
Cross Country
Representatives from both cross-country squads were present at Lehigh University for the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The highest finisher from the women’s team was Ella Woehlcke, who took home 12th with a 6k time of 22:04. First-year Brenden McMahon led the men with a 25:43.5, good for 120th in the field. Cross Country’s final regular season meet of the season will be next Friday, Oct. 16, at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville.
Golf
Men’s golf wrapped up play at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational last Tuesday in Fort Worth, Texas. The Cavaliers as a team finished in joint-14th position, shooting +43 over par as a unit. Josh Duangmanee was the best individual finisher, ending his competition at +8 over par.
Other Action
Swimming held a scrimmage against the Navy on Grounds. The women’s team won all eleven races against Navy, while the Men’s team took home two wins. Only select members of the squad competed.
Virgina baseball and softball have begun their fall exhibition slate. Up next, baseball will host James Madison on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. and softball will host Radford this Friday at 6 p.m.
