Wake Forest University
Louisville
Lee Pushes Deacons Past No. 31 Louisville 4-3
4/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 6, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - In what was billed as the "Last Match at Leighton Stadium," freshman Adam Lee took the Leighton courts for the first time in his young career and came through when it counted, defeating Louisville's Andrew Carter in the deciding No. 6 singles match to lead Wake Forest to a 4-3 win over the No. 31 Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon.
The Deacons (10-8) and the Cardinals (12-11) split the first six points of the match 3-3, and with No. 6 singles having to wait to get started due to Leighton Stadium's five-court setup, it was clear by the time Lee took the court that his would be the decisive match. Wake had played its previous home matches at Hanes Park, meaning that the freshman would be playing his first-ever competitive match on-campus.
As the only ones left playing, Lee and Carter battled through a tight first set in front of a boisterous crowd, that the Deacon freshman took in a tiebreak. Carter hung with the Auckland, New Zealand native through the first few games of the second set, but the Kiwi took the last four games of the match to close out the 7-6 (4), 6-3 win, earning the Demon Deacons one of their best victories of the season.
"I had to play like it was all down to me," said Lee. "The crowd and the team definitely pulled me through this one."
For the second straight match, the Deacons dropped the doubles point. But for the second straight match they were able to rally and take four singles matches to earn a 4-3 win. Danny Kreyman, Jonathan Wolff and Iain Atkinson picked up the first three singles wins to keep the Deacs alive heading into the final match.
"We went down after losing the doubles point. We didn't play well, including myself at No. 3 doubles," said Lee. "But we came out firing in singles. We could tell that everyone wanted it, and it was a good win for me as well. That kid is a good player."
Kreyman took down Alejandro Calligari 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 to even the match at 1-1 and improve his team-leading singles record to 22-12 this season. After No. 13 Austen Childs put the Cardinals in front again with a win over No. 113 Tripper Carleton at No. 1 singles, Wolff brought the score to 2-2 by defeating No. 117 Simon Childs 6-2, 6-4.
Iain Atkinson got the Deacons' third point in a tiebreak, defeating No. 92 Viktor Maksimcuk 6-1, 7-6 (2). Minutes later, Robert Hall earned Louisville's third point at No. 5, meaning that the match would be decided at No. 6 singles, where Lee was able to pull out the Deacon victory.
It turns out that today's match might not have been the "Last Time at Leighton Stadium" after all. After today's success on the Leighton courts, head coach Jeff Zinn left open the possibility that Demon Deacons' final two home matches against No. 38 Virginia Tech on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and No. 1 Virginia on Sunday at 1 p.m. could be played on campus. Check back with WakeForestSports.com later this week for an update on where the matches take place.
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#34 Wake Forest 4, #31 Louisville 3
Singles
1. #13 Austen Childs (UL) def. #113 Tripper Carleton (WF) 6-1, 6-4
2. #63 Jonathan Wolff (WF) def. #117 Simon Childs (UL) 6-2, 6-4
3. Iain Atkinson (WF) def. #92 Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Danny Kreyman (WF) def. Alejandro Calligari (UL) 6-2, 6-3
5. Robert Hall (UL) def. David Hopkins (WF) 6-4, 6-1
6. Adam Lee (WF) def. Andrew Carter (UL) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Doubles
1. Simon Childs/Viktor Maksimcuk (UL) def. #36 Iain Atkinson/David Hopkins (WF) 8-6
2. Alejandro Calligari/Robert Hall (UL) def. Danny Kreyman/Jonathan Wolff (WF) 8-6
3. Austen Childs/Adam Donaldson (UL) def. Conner Sherwood/Adam Lee (WF) 8-3
Match Notes:
Louisville 12-11; National ranking #31
Wake Forest 10-8; National ranking #34
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2*,1); Singles (4,1,2,3,5,6*)
Players Mentioned
