Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Ready For NCAA Opener Against Mississippi State
5/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 12, 2004
The 42nd-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team travels to Charlottesville, Va. this weekend to compete in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons will square off against 29th-ranked Mississippi State in the first round on Friday, May 14 at the Snyder Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
Wake Forest and Mississippi State will be meeting for the fourth time as the Bulldogs hold a slight 2-1 advantage. The last times the two teams faced off was in 1991 with the Bulldogs coming out on top, 6-2. The winner of the Wake Forest-Mississippi State match will face either Virginia (22-3) or American University (13-8) in the second round on Saturday, May 15 at 1 p.m. The Cavaliers captured the ACC championship in 2004 and are the NCAA Tournament's sixth-seeded team. The Deacons dropped a close, 4-3 decision at Virginia on March 20 and are 18-23 all-time against the Cavaliers. Wake Forest and American have never met on the tennis court.
In his eight years as head coach at Wake Forest, Jeff Zinn has now led the Deacs to the NCAA Tournament five times, including four seasons in a row. In 2003, Wake Forest earned its first ever NCAA tournament victory, a 4-3 win over Brown which put the Demon Deacons into the NCAA second round for the first time in the program's history.
"We are honored to be in the NCAA Tournament again for the fourth year in a row. Compared to our previous three tournament teams, I think this team is going to be the most ready and focused," said Zinn. "We could not have asked for a better draw and seed. We battled hard in a 4-3 loss to Virginia earlier this season, so we like going to Virginia and getting to play Mississippi State in the first round. We feel like we've got a good chance."
#42 Wake Forest vs. #29 Mississippi State
NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday May 14, 2004- 2:00 p.m.
Snyder Tennis Center- Charlottesville, Va.
Singles
No. 1-- #57 Derrick Spice (WF) vs. #37 Romain Ambert (MSU)
No. 2-- Todd Paul (WF) vs. Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU)
No. 3-- David Loewenthal (WF) vs. Luiz Carvalho (MSU)
No. 4-- Brett Ross (WF) vs. Max Fomine (MSU)
No. 5-- Andrew Hamar (WF) vs. Florent Girod (MSU)
No. 6-- Andrew Simpson (WF) vs. Romain Provenzano (MSU)
Doubles
No. 1-- Derrick Spice/Brett Ross (WF) vs. Luiz Carvalho/Florent Girod (MSU)
No. 2-- Andrew Hamar/David Loewenthal (WF) vs. Romain Ambert/Max Fomine (MSU)
No. 3-- Todd Paul/Andrew Simpson (WF) vs. Matt Armstrong/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU)
News and Notes:
-Wake Forest is one of seven ACC teams to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2004. The Demon Deacons join Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State and Georgia Tech in the 64-team field.
-Junior Derrick Spice was selected to compete in the 2004 NCAA Singles Championship following the team championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This will mark Spice's first appearance in the singles championship. The last Demon Deacon selected for the event was David Loewenthal who represented Wake Forest in 2003. Spice compiled eight wins at No. 1 singles during the regular season, was selected for the 2004 All-ACC team and was also named ACC Player of the Week twice. Spice will play No. 1 singles for the Deacs Friday against MSU and will pair up with sophomore Brett Ross at No. 1 doubles.
-Wake Forest freshman Todd Paul led the team with a 28-11 overall record, including a 15-6 mark in dual matches in 2004 and was named ACC Freshman of the Year. The Stamford, Conn. native played in three different singles slots throughout the season and strung together a seven-match winning streak for nearly a month from Feb. 18 through Mar. 17. Paul will compete in the No. 2 singles position Friday and team up with Andrew Simpson at No. 3 doubles.
-Senior David Loewenthal will be wrapping up his career as one of the all-time greatest at Wake Forest. The Franklin Lakes, NJ native ranks second on Wake Forest's career singles victories list with 101. Loewenthal and David Bere (106) are the only two Demon Deacons ever to reach the century mark in career wins. Loewenthal, a two-time All-ACC selection, also ranks fourth with 71 career doubles wins. Despite missing the entire fall season with an injury, Loewenthal compiled nine dual match wins, including a team-best six ACC victories in 2004. Loewenthal will play No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles Friday against Mississippi State.
