The Buckeyes had beaten the Hoos convincingly twice during the regular season, both times indoors, but that didn’t matter Sunday. Virginia (30-4) dominated doubles and then overwhelmed Ohio State (34-3) in singles. The match lasted less than 2½ hours.
“It happened so fast,” Rodesch said.
Junior Iñaki Montes clinched the victory for UVA with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles. With the finish line in sight, Virginia supporters raised a familiar chant: “Let’s go, Wahoos! Let’s go, Wahoos!’”
“I think fans, all the UVA community, that they came to support us made a difference today,” Montes said. “There are no words to describe the energy. The atmosphere today was amazing. So thank you for all the fans that came out. And we did it.”
The NCAA title is UVA’s sixth overall and second under Pedroso, a former assistant on the staff of his predecessor as head coach, Brian Boland.
“It’s a bit surreal, like it was when we won it last year,” said Pedroso, who’s in his sixth year as head coach. “I give all the credit to the guys, to the staff, the coaches. This is such a team effort. So many people have put so much time into a process like this.”