Wake Forest Athletics
No. 26 Deacons Open Dual Match Season with Saturday Doubleheader
1/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 20, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 26 Wake Forest men's tennis team will open dual match play this Saturday, hosting UNC Asheville at 11 a.m. followed by Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m. The Demon Deacons enter the contest following a successful fall season, including the program's first ever national title, won by Cory Parr and Steven Forman in doubles at the ITA National Indoors Tournament in November.
Wake Forest returns six letterwinners from last spring, as well as sophomore Iain Atkinson who joined the team last January but sat out most of the spring season due to eligibility requirements. Atkinson will be eligible for dual matches starting mid-February. Cory Parr and Steven Forman will likely lead the team at the top of the singles and doubles lineup in 2009.
Sophomore Jonathan Wolff, junior Jason Morgenstern and junior Andrew Brasseaux will compete for the middle slots in singles. Redshirt junior Carlos Salmon, who transferred from Southern California before the 2007-08 season, played primarily in doubles during 2008 but may pick up more time in singles in the coming weeks.
Joining the squad are freshmen David Hopkins, from Winston-Salem, and Joost Vogel from Gronigen, Netherlands.
"David was arguably one of the top players in the South. Joost was one of the top players in the Netherlands. Quite frankly we are lucky to have these two guys. We feel really happy that they chose Wake Forest," Zinn said.
Another addition to the team is Assistant Coach Chris Brandi. Brandi replaces Andrew Simpson, who is now at the University of Tennessee, working towards a masters degree after three years at the Deacon assistant position.
"Chris Brandi is a former All-American at Florida. He's a tremendous addition to the team. He has a great coaching background and his father is one of the top coaches in the country. He's grown up in tennis. For us to have him here and his knowledge of the game and his energy is great for us. It's going to be a big impact for our program," Zinn said.
The schedule this season features three big non-conference matchups in February, including William & Mary on February 7, Ohio State on February 8 and VCU on February 14.
"Ohio State is a big one for us. Last year we were 11 in the nation when we played OSU and they were No. 2 in the nation," Zinn said.
"It was a great match in Columbus, Ohio. It was a great match in a great facility, there was a huge crowd. I want to have that here."
Following the contest with the Buckeyes, Wake Forest is scheduled for a grueling 14-match road stretch that includes big name opponents like Louisville, Michigan and South Carolina. The Deacons will open conference season on the road with Maryland on March 20 and Boston College on March 22.
To finish out the regular season Wake Forest will host the final five conference matches starting on April 3. The ACC Tournament will be held in Cary, N.C. from April 16-19. The NCAA Tournament opening rounds will be May 8-10 at campus sites and the championships will be held at Texas A&M from the 14-21.
Players Mentioned
