Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Prepare For ACC Men's Tennis Championship
4/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2005
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The 17th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team travels to the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C. on Friday for the 2005 ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons finished the regular season with a 15-5 overall record and 7-3 mark in the ACC, earning the tournament's No. 4 seed. Wake Forest will be facing the fifth-seeded and 27th-ranked Clemson Tigers beginning Friday at noon.
In their regular season meeting with the Tigers on March 30, Jeff Zinn's Deacons claimed a 5-2 victory in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest was swept in doubles before turning the tide and winning five of the six doubles matches.
The Deacons have been led by All-ACC selections 51st-ranked Todd Paul and 54th-ranked Derrick Spice. Paul owns a 20-9 singles record in 2004. Last year's ACC Rookie of the Year went 9-1 in the ACC this spring and has defeated six nationally-ranked foes this season.
Spice, Wake Forest's first three-time All-ACC selection, has a 16-15 singles record. The senior from North Olmsted, Ohio, won seven of his 10 ACC matches and has won three in a row, all against ranked opponents.
Spice and Paul, in that order, will fill the top two spots in the Wake Forest singles lineup. Sophomore Andrew Hamar (19-9, 7-3 ACC) will play No. 3 singles and junior Brett Ross (24-10, 8-2 ACC) will play No. 4 singles. Both individuals have been nationally ranked at various times this season. Hamar is currently ranked 91st while Ross leads the Deacons with 24 singles wins.
Freshman Marius Adamski will play No. 5 singles in his first ACC Tournament appearance. The native of Poznan, Poland, posted an 8-4 record in that position during the spring, 14-5 overall. Playing No. 6 singles will be junior Liron Strauss who owns a 13-12 singles mark this season.
In doubles, Ross and Spice will team up to form Wake Forest's top pair. The duo has been nationally-ranked during their career and they have a 12-9 record in 2004-05. Adamski and Hamar will play No. 2 doubles. That pair is a recently found combination for the Deacons. They have only played four matches together, but remain undefeated.
The No. 3 doubles team will be Paul and junior Joe Bates. That duo began competing together this spring with outstanding success, with a 7-2 record, including a 5-1 mark when playing at No. 3.
Clemson finished the 2005 season 24-9 overall with a 6-2 record in conference matches. The Tigers are led by ACC Player of the Year, Nathan Thompson. Thompson is ranked 22nd nationally in singles. Clemson has been in the ACC Tournament Finals three times in the last four seasons.
Wake Forest is coming off a 6-1 win over Duke last Saturday, its first win versus the Blue Devils since 1981, while Clemson beat NC State 5-2 on Sunday in Tiger Town.
If Wake Forest advances, the Deacons would face the winner of top-seeded Virginia and ninth-seeded Miami at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
#17 Wake Forest vs. #27 Clemson Friday, April 22th - Cary Tennis Center- Cary, N.C.
SinglesNo. 1-- #54 Derrick Spice (WF) vs. #22 Nathan Thompson (CU)No. 2-- #51 Todd Paul (WF) vs. Sander Koning (CU)No. 3-- #91 Andrew Hamar (WF) vs. Clement Reix (CU)No. 4-- Brett Ross (WF) vs. Ryan Young (CU)No. 5-- Marius Adamski (WF) vs. Brett Twente (CU)No. 6-- Liron Strauss (WF) vs. Clint Boling (CU)
DoublesNo. 1-- Spice/Ross (WF) vs. #41 Thompson/Young (CU)No. 2-- Adamski/Hamar (WF) vs. Koning/Reix (CU)No. 3-- Paul/Joe Bates (WF) vs. Twente/Ryan Cook (CU)
Players Mentioned
