Wake Forest University
Winthrop
Deacons Drop 4-3 Heartbreaker to No. 71 Winthrop
3/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 15, 2014
By Currie McFayden, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest took a 3-1 overall lead but could not hold off a late Winthrop rally at the top three singles positions, falling 4-3 to the No. 71 Eagles on Saturday afternoon on the Leighton Courts at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
The Demon Deacons fall to 8-6 following the loss, while the Eagles move to 6-3 on the season with the win.
Winthrop grabbed an early lead in the race for the doubles point. Kasey Gardiner and Xue Zhang fought hard and kept things close early, but Andressa Garcia and Alice Garcia were able to pull away from the Wake Forest duo to earn the 8-4 victory.
Needing both of the remaining matches to claim the point, No. 72 Luisa Fernandez and Samantha Asch did not disappoint at the No. 2 position. After falling behind early, the duo rallied to knot things at 4-4 against Ekin Gunaysu and Caitlin Cridland. With the momentum squarely on their side, the Demon Deacons finished the match on fire, claiming four of the final five games to pull out the 8-5 win.
In what became the deciding match, Karen Forman and Brigita Bercyte starred for Wake Forest. Even though the pair has not played much together this season, the upperclassmen took control early against Tijana Uzelac and Beth Williamson of Winthrop and cruised to a big 8-5 win with a late charge to give Wake Forest the doubles point and a 1-0 overall lead.
The Demon Deacons jumped out to a 3-1 overall lead in the match by capturing two of the first three singles matches. Forman, already in top form after clinching the doubles point, easily downed Monica Aguado of the Eagles 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. Gardiner continued her recent strong singles play as well with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win over Uzelac at the No. 4 position in which she held off a strong second-set rally.
Zhang kept things close in both sets against Gunaysu at No. 5, but could not overcome her solid play in a 7-5, 6-4 setback.
Each of the top three singles matches went to three sets. At No. 1, Kimmy Guerin raced out to a big lead en route to claiming the first set, but Andressa Garcia rallied back to win the second by a score of 6-4. In the decisive third set, Guerin could not hold off a late rally by the Winthrop player, who earned the 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory to cut Wake Forest's lead to 3-2.
The matches at Nos. 2 and 3 unfortunately followed the same manner for the Demon Deacons. Fernandez and Asch each split their first two sets, but could not carry that momentum over into the third. Fernandez fell 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 2, while Asch had a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 setback at No. 3. With wins at the top three positions, Winthrop overcame a 3-1 deficit to claim the overall match 4-3.
Wake Forest will be back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the second half of a weekend doubleheader against local foe Elon. The Demon Deacons will be looking to avenge a 4-3 defeat against the Phoenix during the 2013 season.
#71 Winthrop 4, Wake Forest 3
Singles Competition
1. GARCIA, Andressa (WU) def. Kimmy Guerin (WF) 1-6, 6-4, 7-5
2. GARCIA, Alice (WU) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
3. CRIDLAND, Caitlin (WU) def. Samantha Asch (WF) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. Kasey Gardiner (WF) def. UZELAC, Tijana (WU) 6-4, 6-4
5. GUNAYSU, Ekin (WU) def. Xue Zhang (WF) 7-5, 6-4
6. Karen Forman (WF) def. AGUADO, Monica (WU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. GARCIA, Andressa/GARCIA, Alice (WU) def. Xue Zhang/Kasey Gardiner (WF) 8-4
2. #72 Luisa Fernandez/Samantha Asch (WF) def. GUNAYSU, Ekin/CRIDLAND, Caitlin (WU) 8-5
3. Brigita Bercyte/Karen Forman (WF) def. UZELAC, Tijana/WILLIAMSON, Beth (WU) 8-5
Match Notes:
Winthrop 6-3; National ranking #71
Wake Forest 8-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3*); Singles (6,5,4,1,3,2*)
T-4:22 A-63
Players Mentioned
