Wake Forest University
Maryland
Deacons Defeat Maryland 4-1 in ACC Championship Opener
4/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 23, 2014
By Currie McFayden, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
CARY, N.C. - Buoyed by strong doubles play and wins at the bottom three singles positions, Wake Forest defeated Maryland 4-1 in the opening round of the 2014 ACC Women's Tennis Championship at the Cary Tennis Park on Wednesday morning.
The win is the first in the postseason for the Demon Deacons (12-12) since a 4-2 victory over NC State on April 22, 2010. It is also the first postseason victory for Head Coach Jeff Wyshner since he has taken the helm of the program.
For Maryland (8-13), the loss will be its final match as a member of the ACC. The Terrapins will join the Big Ten beginning in the 2014-15 season.
In doubles play, Kimmy Guerin and Karen Forman took control at the No. 3 position early and did not let up, cruising past Kristina Hovsepyan and Olga Gaistruk by a final score of 8-2 to give the Deacs an early edge in the race for the opening point.
In a hard-fought match at No. 1, Xue Zhang and Kasey Gardiner kept things close for much of the contest, but Maryland's top duo of Nataliya Bredikhina and Welma Luus pulled away late for an 8-5 victory to even the doubles point.
Playing in the decisive match at No. 2 doubles, Samantha Asch and Luisa Fernandez emerged victorious over Alexandra Stanova and Olivia Gaudreault in a thrilling 8-7 (0) contest. The freshman duo faced match point while down 7-5, but managed to fight it off and then powered through the tiebreaker without dropping a single point to give Wake Forest the doubles point.
As they have in recent matches, the bottom half of the Demon Deacon lineup came through in a big way on Wednesday. In the first match off the court, Gardiner dropped just two games and needed just over an hour to defeat Maryland's Olga Bredikhina by a 6-1, 6-1 margin at No. 5 singles to give the Deacs a 2-0 lead.
The Terrapins got on the board with a win at No. 3 singles as Luus downed Guerin 6-3, 6-1. The freshman went up early in the opening set, but Luus grabbed the momentum after that and would not let go, cutting Wake Forest's lead to 2-1.
Just seconds after Guerin fell, however, Zhang closed out her match at No. 6 to increase the lead to 3-1. The sophomore, squaring off against Gaudreault, never trailed in the match en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory that put the Demon Deacons one win away from clinching the overall match.
That win would come off the racket of Asch at No. 4 singles. Despite falling behind by a break in each set, the freshman battled back each time against Hovsepyan, refusing to give the Maryland player any separation. The Princeton, N.J., native claimed the match 6-3, 6-3 for the clinching point, giving Wake Forest an insurmountable 4-1 lead and the overall victory.
Andrea Retolaza and Fernandez, playing at Nos. 1 and 2, split their first two sets, but the matches remained unfinished following Asch's victory.
The Demon Deacons will return to action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. as they face fifth-seeded Duke (21-3) at the Cary Tennis Park. Wake Forest will be seeking its first victory over the Blue Devils since a 5-2 triumph in Winston-Salem during the 2007 season. A win on Thursday would also be the first ever for the Deacs at a neutral site against Duke.
#70 Wake Forest 4, #73 Maryland 1
Singles Competition
1. Andrea Retolaza (WF) vs. Stanova,Alexandra (MD) 3-6, 6-3, 1-1, unfinished
2. Luisa Fernandez (WF) vs. Bredikhina,Nataliya (MD) 6-1, 2-6, unfinished
3. Luus,Welma (MD) def. Kimmy Guerin (WF) 6-3, 6-1
4. Samantha Asch (WF) def. Hovsepyan,Kristina (MD) 6-3, 6-3
5. Kasey Gardiner (WF) def. Bredikhina,Olga (MD) 6-1, 6-1
6. Xue Zhang (WF) def. Gaudreault,Olivia (MD) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Xue Zhang/Kasey Gardiner (WF) def. Luus,Welma/Bredikhina,Nataliya (MD) 8-5
2. Luisa Fernandez/Samantha Asch (WF) def. Stanova,Alexandra/Gaudreault,Olivia (MD) 8-7 (7-0)
3. Kimmy Guerin/Karen Forman (WF) def. Hovsepyan,Kristina/Gaistruck,Olga (MD) 8-2
Match Notes:
Maryland 8-13; National ranking #73
Wake Forest 12-12; National ranking #70
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2*); Singles (5,3,6,4*)
Singles matches No. 1 and No. 2 were not completed
Players Mentioned
