Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Virginia (ACCs)
Wake Forest Bounced From ACC Tournament By Virginia
4/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2007
Cary, N.C. - The fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team ran into its old postseason nemesis Saturday in the ACC Tournament semifinals, falling to top-seeded and second-ranked Virginia, 4-0.
The Demon Deacons (21-6) came out blazing in doubles, leading all three matches by at least one service break. Andrew Hamar and Steven Forman disposed of Teddy Angelinos and Lee Singer 8-3, but Wake Forest's fortunes turned in the other two matches. Despite holding identical 4-1 early leads at numbers one and two, Virginia rallied to win both matches 9-7.
At number one, Todd Paul and Mariusz Adamski, the nation's 12th-ranked team, lost to second-ranked Somdev Devvarmand Treat Huey to snap a six-match winning streak.
At number two, Wake Forest's Cory Parr and Charles Sartor led 6-3 when Virginia required a lengthy injury timeout. When play finally resumed, the Cavaliers won six of the next seven games to give Virginia the 1-0 lead.
The momentum snowballed for Virginia (25-3) in singles. The Cavaliers posted easy straight set wins at numbers one, two and six. At number one, second-ranked Somdev Devvarman defeated Paul, 6-0, 6-2. It was the first time since last March that Paul, Wake Forest's career singles wins leader, failed to win a game in a set.
Saturday's loss was the first time all season the Deacons lost at numbers one, two and six in the same match. Until the Virginia match, Wake Forest had a combined record of 61-12 at those positions.
With the team result already booked, the singles matches at three, four and five were abandoned. Steven Forman was up at set at number five, Mariusz Adamski was deep in a first-set tiebreaker at number four and Andrew Hamar was down a set at number three.
This marks the third straight year that Wake Forest has lost to Virginia in the post-season. The Cavaliers eliminated the Deacons from last year's NCAA Tournament in the second round and from the 2005 ACC Tournament in the second round. Virginia has now won each of the last seven meetings between the schools.
Wake Forest expects to receive and at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team field will be televised on Tuesday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. eastern time on ESPNEWS. The first and second round matches will be held at campus sites. Beginning with the round of 16, the tournament descends on Athens, Ga. The selections for the individual tournaments -- 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams -- will be announced on May 2.
Players Mentioned
