Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Clemson (NCAAs)
THUNDERSTRUCK! Deacons Are Athens-Bound
5/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 12, 2007
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Andrew Hamar had waited four years. Head coach Jeff Zinn had waited 11. As a program, Wake Forest had waited forever. For everyone associated with Demon Deacon tennis, waiting another eight hours and 23 minutes on Saturday was worth it.
It took that long for the Wake Forest men's tennis team to get past Clemson, 4-3, and clinch its first-ever Sweet 16 bid. To finally reach the finish line, the Deacons experienced almost a four-hour weather delay, a venue change, long odds, five match points and ultimately, history.
Hamar's gutsy third-set 11-9 tiebreaker victory was the difference. The Deacons (23-6) and Tigers (31-9) were tied at three. Hamar and Clemson's Ryan Young, both seniors, were left to settle the score. The loser would not only see his team's season come to an end, but also his individual collegiate career.
Hamar and Young had been the only ones remaining on the court for almost an hour. A fatigued Young had Hamar on the ropes, up a break at 4-2, when severe weather and heavy rain caused the match to be suspended at 5:42 p.m. Wake Forest's season slogan, "A Storm Is Coming," proved to be prophetic and may have been the match's turning point.
But as the rain and lightning passed, daylight faded.
Rather than move the match indoors to the Wake Forest University Indoor Tennis Center, NCAA officials ruled the match must conclude outdoors. Action was moved to nearby Leighton Tennis Stadium, Wake Forest's lighted regular season facility.
Three hours and 55 minutes later, at 9:37 p.m., play finally resumed and Hamar caught fire. The native of Pontypool, South Wales quickly rallied to tie 4-4. Then each player held serve twice, forcing a decisive tiebreaker. Hamar took control early, leading 4-2. But Young would not fold as he rallied to take three straight points. Hamar stayed alive by saving Young's match point at 5-4. Finally, on Hamar's fourth match point, at 10-9, he nailed the door shut by returning Young's diving volley. The winner sent Hamar, his teammates and Deacon fans into a frenzy.
The match, which began at the Upper Eight Courts, was tight from start to finish. Wake Forest took the doubles point with wins from Hamar and Charles Sartor at number two and Steven Forman and Cory Parr at number three.
In singles, Parr defeated Clement Reix in impressive fashion, 6-1, 6-3, to give the Deacons a 2-0 lead. The Tigers notched their first point at number six where Ike Belk defeated Jason Morgenstern, 6-3, 6-3. Forman's 6-4, 6-1 victory gave the Deacons a 3-1 edge. Clemson's Rok Bizjak cut the lead to 3-2 with a 6-0, 6-4 against Mariusz Adamski.
Wake Forest led 3-2, but the Young had already taken his first set as had Clemson's Jarmaine Jenkins against Deacon All-American Todd Paul at number one. Paul rallied to win 6-3 in the second set, but all of his momentum quickly washed away. Jenkins broke Paul's serve twice in the third set and eventually won 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, at around 4:45 p.m.
That set the stage for Mother Nature, Hamar and Young to battle it out for the next five and a half hours.
"I was so nervous," Hamar said, "I just didn't want our season to end. To win and to go to Athens, it feels amazing."
"It's a day we'll never forget," Zinn, Wake Forest's 11th year head coach, said. "It hasn't soaked in, but it will. I always felt this would be our year. I'm so proud of the way our guys battled."
After the match, among those who joined the team picture underneath the scoreboard were current assistant coach Andrew Simpson, David Bere and Trent Brendon, three former Deacons who came close, but never reached the Sweet 16 as players.
"I have waited seven years for this moment," Simpson said. "I couldn't be more proud of our guys. This was the biggest stage in Wake Forest tennis history."
The stage gets bigger on Thursday when Wake Forest faces fourth-seeded Virginia in the Sweet 16 in Athens, Ga.
Match Notes:
- Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,5,4,6,1,3)
- Match suspended at 5:42 p.m. with the score tied at 3-3
- #3 match -- Clemson led 7-6 (6), 1-6, 4-2 (love, love)
- Match resumed at Leighton Tennis Stadium at 9:37 p.m. with Wake Forest's Andrew Hamar serving 2-4
- Match concluded at 10:23 with Wake Forest's Hamar winning the third-set tiebreaker 11-9.
- Total Match Time: 8 hours, 23 minutes
- #3 singles Total Match Time: 3 hours, 18 minutes
- Weather Delay Time: 3 hours, 55 minutes
- Wake Forest advances to the round of 16 for the first-time ever.
Players Mentioned
