Wake Forest University
Florida State
Kreyman Pushes Deacs Past Noles 4-3
4/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 3, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's tennis team picked up four singles victories after dropping the doubles point to clinch a 4-3 victory over No. 47 Florida State Sunday afternoon at Haynes Park.
The No. 35 Demon Deacons improve to 9-8 (3-4 ACC) while the Seminoles drop to 7-11 (2-5 ACC).
Danny Kreyman and Jonathan Wolff quickly earned an 8-3 victory at the No. 2 doubles position to give the Deacs their lone doubles victory of the afternoon. The duo is now 9-3 when playing at the second slot.
The 36th-ranked tandem of Iain Atkinson and David Hopkins almost pulled off the upset at the top position, but eventually fell 8-6 to the No. 12 duo of Vahid Mirzadeh and Connor Smith. Atkinson and Hopkins now stand at 5-1 on the season, including a 2-1 mark against nationally ranked opponents.
In singles play, No. 113 Tripper Carleton came out strong from the start, easily taking down No. 91 Clint Bowles in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Atkinson was the next Deacon to post a victory, as he defeated Blake Davis 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 3 position. With the victory, Atkinson notched his 20th win of the season and improved his record to 5-2 against ACC opponents.
The Deacs continued to roll, as Hopkins claimed the next singles victory at the No. 5 position with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Jordan Kelly-Houston. Hopkins improved his record to 7-5 in dual match play, including a 4-3 mark in ACC action.
After No. 24 Mirzadeh defeated the 63rd-ranked Wolff 6-2, 6-4 in a tough contest at the top singles position, the Deacs needed one more singles victory to clinch the match.
Kreyman and fellow sophomore Zach Leslie were both in the middle of tight third sets at their respective courts. Kreyman had battled back to claim a 10-8 tiebreaker victory in his first set over Connor Smith after being down early 3-0 in the breaker, but Smith would take the second set 7-5 to force a deciding third set.
Smith was ultimately no match for Kreyman, as the Long Beach, N.Y. native, despite suffering cramps and dehydration late in the contest, calmly put together a 6-3 victory in the third set to clinch the match for the Deacs.
"After the second set, I was a little down because I was up a break in the second (set) and I thought I could finish it there but then I started cramping," said Kreyman. "I just relaxed and somehow pulled it out at the end. Zach (Leslie) kept me in it at the end because he was up in the third (set) at his court."
Kreyman currently leads the Deacs in overall victories with 21, including ten in dual match play and four in ACC action. He improves his mark to 4-2 when playing at the No. 4 slot.
"We've been counting on Danny a lot this year, and he came through for us," said head coach Jeff Zinn. "It was a must-win."
"That doubles was a heartbreaker, but then we came out like gangbusters," said Zinn. "Tripper played amazing, so we finally got him back on track. Iain played amazing, just like he's done all year, and David Hopkins played really well. So we got three quick wins. Wolff played great too, but their (Florida State's) number one was just really good."
Leslie battled Anderson Reed in a tough contest at the No. 6 spot, but Reed eventually claimed the 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 victory to give the Seminoles their final point of the day.
The Deacs will return to the courts Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when they take on Louisville in their final non-conference match of the season.
Wake Forest then closes out their homestand with a Friday afternoon contest against Virginia Tech at 3:30 p.m., and a 1 p.m. match against Virginia on Sunday for Senior Day.
Wake Forest 4, Florida State 3
Doubles
1. #12 Vahid Mirzadeh/Connor Smith (FSU) def. #36 Iain Atkinson/David Hopkins (WF) 8-6
2. Danny Kreyman/Jonathan Wolff (WF) def. Anderson Reed/Andres Bucaro (FSU) 8-3
3. Blake Davis/Jordan Kelly-Houston (FSU) def. Tripper Carleton/Connor Sherwood (WF) 9-8 (5)
Singles
1. #24 Vahid Mirzadeh (FSU) def. #63 Jonathan Wolff (WF) 6-2, 6-4
2. #113 Tripper Carleton (WF) def. #91 Clint Bowles (FSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Iain Atkinson (WF) def. Blake Davis (FSU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Danny Kreyman (WF) def. Connor Smith (FSU) 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-3
5. David Hopkins (WF) def. Jordan Kelly-Houston (FSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Anderson Reed (FSU) def. Zach Leslie (WF) 7-5, 5-7, 7-5
Match Notes
Wake Forest: 9-8 (3-4 ACC); National Ranking #35
Florida State: 7-11 (2-5 ACC); National Ranking #47
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1*); Singles (2, 3, 5, 1, 4*, 6)
Players Mentioned
