CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – They’re a doubles duo who just won the NCAA National Championships in Orlando, Florida, and are building a legacy right here at the University of Virginia.
UVA Men’s Tennis has some new hardware, thanks to fourth year Mans Dahlberg and third year Dylan Dietrich.
“It feels pretty surreal,” Dietrich told 29News on Thursday. “Obviously, I think we both kind of hoped and believed we could win it, but actually winning it and being home now here and everyone congratulating you on the achievement, I think it’s pretty cool.”
The two upperclassmen are now the fourth pair in UVA history to win the doubles championship, something that Dietrich and Dahlberg say is an honor.
“One of the things I most looked forward to the first day I stepped foot on grounds, I saw all the banners on the indoor courts. I was talking with Coach Treat about it, and I told him I really want to be up there on such a banner,” Dietrich said. “Actually, last year we talked about it, how cool would it be if Mans and I were Dietrich and Dahlberg on those banners, so it’s really cool to make that reality and be on there for a long time.”
Dahlberg agrees – it’s about contributing to something bigger.
“It’s not so much about the matches we win or the trophies we hold, it’s mostly about the UVA history books,” Dahlberg said.
To reach victory, Dietrich and Dahlberg had to upset the number one seed, Mississippi State, in the Round of 16.
“[We] knew it was going to be a big test,” Dahlberg said. “That got reinforced by Coach Treat saying that we definitely wouldn’t win, so we just basically first of all tried to prove him wrong, and then the rest of the players in the tournament.”
Assistant Coach Treat Huey says he was just trying to get them motivated.
“They joke that I told them, ‘Oh, you guys have no chance today,’ but you try to push the right buttons here and there,” said Assistant Coach Treat Huey. “That actually worked pretty well.”
Huey is no stranger to doubles championships – the Coach has several ATP career wins under his belt and made it to the Wimbledon semifinals in 2016.
“It’s two people out there, moving in unison… working together and covering the whole court together, and they do such an amazing job of that, but kind of in a nontraditional way,” Huey said about the pair.
Dietrich and Dahlberg are just as close off the court as they are on, having lived together at UVA for years and even taken a trip to Portugal with Dietrich’s family.
“They have such a great bond as friends,” Huey said. “They can always rely on each other, know that if one of them really messes up and plays terrible, it’s not the end of the world. They both love each other either way, and will be best friends win or lose.”
Dahlberg says their relationship dynamic doesn’t change too much when they step into practice or a match.
“I might be a little more down to earth, a little more if I can say normal, I say normal, and he is a little all over the place, comes up with crazy ideas, a lot of fun to be around both on and off the court,” Dahlberg said.
“We both play our best tennis together when we have fun and when we enjoy each other on the court and do small jokes here and there and not take it too seriously,” Dietrich said.
Plus, they have one of the most intimidating team names in the sport.
“The Pookie Bears,” Dietrich revealed.
After some rest and family time in December, the men’s tennis team will return to practicing in January, before the team season begins.
“I think it just adds a little more excitement and a little more curiosity for starting off all of our matches,” Dahlberg said. “Knowing that we can do what we did this fall but for our team.”
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