No. 74 Deacons Visit Syracuse to Close Regular Season
4/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2014
By Currie McFayden, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 74 Wake Forest will close out the regular season at 11 a.m. on Friday morning at No. 69 Syracuse, the first-ever meeting between the two schools as members of the ACC.
The Demon Deacons (11-11, 3-10 ACC) will be seeking to snap a four-match losing streak before heading into the 2014 ACC Championships next week. The Orange (4-13, 4-8 ACC) were swept 7-0 in their last two outings at Clemson and Georgia Tech last weekend.
Friday's matchup could have a strong effect on seeding for the ACC Championships. Because of a logjam in the lower half of the standings, Wake Forest could jump to as high as 10th with a victory but is guaranteed to finish above NC State and Pittsburgh regardless of the result.
After picking up a victory over No. 59 Rachel Pierson of Virginia last weekend, freshman Luisa Fernandez now has three wins over top-100 players this year. She is the first underclassman to defeat three or more nationally ranked players in a single season since Martina Pavelec achieved the feat during the 2009-10 season.
In addition, Fernandez has earned 13 singles victories in dual matches. That mark is the most for a Demon Deacon freshman since Sasha Kulikova posted a 17-4 record in her debut season in 2006-07. In total, Fernandez has collected 40 combined wins between singles and doubles this season, the most of any player since Pavelec had 43 in 2010-11 and the most by a freshman since Christian Tara (46), Sierra Poske (42) and Ana Jerman (40) during the 2005-06 season.
As a team, the Demon Deacons have also been impressive this season, with seven players reaching double-digit singles victories. That is the most by any Wake Forest team since the 2005-06 season.
Three doubles teams; Kasey Gardiner and Xue Zhang, Fernandez and Samantha Asch and Kimmy Guerin and Andrea Retolaza; have also reached double-digit victories in 2013-14, again the most since the 2005-06 season.
The Deacs will be looking to rebound from a tough 4-3 loss to Maryland and a 6-1 setback against No. 4 Virginia last weekend. Wake Forest holds a 4-1 edge all-time against Syracuse, but the two sides have not played since a 6-1 Demon Deacon win in 2007.
Syracuse is led by Maddie Kobelt at the No. 1 singles position. She holds a 5-6 record in the spot and a 6-11 dual record overall; she has also defeated two nationally ranked opponents this season. In doubles, Kobelt pairs with Valeria Salazar to form the No. 72 duo in the country; the two have gone 6-9 at No. 1 doubles in 2014.
Following Friday's match, Wake Forest will await word on its seeding for the 2014 ACC Championships, which begin next Wednesday in Cary, N.C. The Deacs will play an as yet undetermined opponent at either 9 a.m. or Noon depending on the final outcome of the conference standings.
Players Mentioned
