Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Kreyman Pushes Deacs Past Heels in 4-3 ACC Thriller
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 23, 2010
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CARY, N.C. - Freshman Danny Kreyman won the deciding match in a third-set tiebreak as No. 6 seed Wake Forest edged No. 3 seed North Carolina 4-3 Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Tennis Championships played at Cary Tennis Park.
The Deacons will face No. 2 seed Duke in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m. It marks the fourth consecutive year that Wake Forest has advanced to the semifinals of the tournament.
Friday's match was filled with drama from beginning to end. Carolina won the doubles point, but the Deacs took the first two singles matches to take a 2-1 lead. At No. 1, Wake's No.27 Steven Forman was trailing No. 41 Clay Donato 5-0 in the final set and it looked like the Tar Heels were set to even the overall match. But Forman slowly chipped away, eventually breaking Donato for the third straight time to take a 6-5 lead and holding serve to win the match 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
"It was all because of Steve Forman, because if he had never come back from 5-0 down then it wouldn't have even mattered," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "He just came back and it showed that even with all the tough losses that we've had this year, something made him believe he could do it."
Carolina evened the score at 3-3 with wins at No. 2 and No. 6 leaving the contest to be decided by the match on Court 5 between Wake's Danny Kreyman and the Tar Heels' Cameron Ahari, which had just split sets. Neither player could pull away from the other, sending the match to a tiebreak at 6-6. Kreyman, who was fighting cramps, got an early mini-break and held on to take the tiebreak 7-2 and clinch the overall match for the Deacons.
"Danny deserves it more than anybody. He's got so much to his story, and you could do a movie on that. If there's one young man who I wish something good would happen to, it'd be him," said Zinn.
The Tar Heels won the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. The Deacons 19th-ranked team of Steven Forman and Iain Atkinson picked up an 8-6 win over No. 20 Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy at the top position, but the Tar Heels cruised to win at No. 3, leaving the point to be decided at the No. 2 position. Jonathan Wolff and Danny Kreyman went up a break early, but the Heels' team of Cameron Ahari and Brennan Boyajian broke back to even the match 6-6. After a UNC hold, the Heels won a tight deuce game to take the match 8-6 and claim the point.
No. 106 Atkinson evened the match for the Deacons with a 6-1, 7-6(5) victory over No. 116 Hardy at No. 3. Wake took its first lead of the afternoon as Wolff closed out No. 85 Boyajian 6-2, 7-6(5) at No. 4 singles. Forman's unlikely comeback came next to stretch the Deacon advantage to 3-1.
But the Tar Heels quickly drew closer as Andrew Crone downed Zach Leslie 6-3, 7-6(5) on Court 6. No. 56 Jose Hernandez tied the match for Carolina with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win over No. 38Tripper Carleton at No. 2, leaving the matched to be decided on Court 5. And after a long third set, Kreyman emerged victorious to send Wake Forest into the semifinals.
Deacs to Face Blue Devils in Semifinals
Wake Forest will face a tough test Saturday in the Duke Blue Devils, who squeaked past the Deacons 4-3 in Winston-Salem earlier in the year.
Duke advanced to the semis by shutting out Florida State 4-0 on Friday. The Blue Devils boast ACC Player and Freshman of the Year Henrique Cunha.
"We want to play Duke again," said Zinn. "That was a heartbreaker this year, and we're going to give them a battle because we believe we can beat anybody."
Tickets for Saturday's match can be purchased at the gate for seven dollars for adults and five dollars for college students, seniors and youths. Children under 8 get in free.
For directions and complete tournament information please visit Tournament Central.
No. 6 Wake Forest 4, No. 3 North Carolina 3
Doubles
1.No. 19 Steven Forman/Iain Atkinson (WF) def. No.20 Clay Donato/Stefan Hardy 8-6.
2. Cameron Ahari/Brennan Boyajian (UNC) def. Danny Kreyman/Jonathan Wolff 8-6
3. Andrew Crone/Jose Hernandez (UNC) def. Tripper Carleton/Zach Leslie 8-3
Order of Finish: 1,3,2*
Singles
1. No. 27 Steven Forman (WF) def. No. 41 Clay Donato 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
2. No. 56 Jose Hernandez (UNC) def. No. 38 Tripper Carleton 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 106 Iain Atkinson (WF) def. No. 116 Stefan Hardy 6-1, 7-6(7)
4. Jonathan Wolff (WF) def. No. 85 Brennan Boyajian 6-2, 7-6(5)
5. Danny Kreyman (WF) def. Cameron Ahari 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2)
6. Andrew Crone (UNC) def. Zach Leslie 6-3, 7-6(5)
Order of Finish: 3,4,1,6,2,5*
Players Mentioned
