Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Pepperdine
Deacons Take Down Pepperdine, Move to Sweet 16
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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By Andrew Wilson, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - With a stellar team performance from start to finish, the 12th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team topped No. 39 Pepperdine 4-0 on Saturday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship for just the third time in program history.
Now with a 24-7 record on the season, the Demon Deacons also set the school record for the most wins in program history, passing the 23 victories from by the 2007 squad. Overall, Wake Forest has won 11 of its last 12 matches dating back to April 3. With the loss, Pepperdine's season ends with an 18-10 record.
The Deacs will battle TCU for the second time this season on Thursday, May 14, at 1 p.m. in the Sweet 16. On March 8 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex, Wake Forest topped the then-No. 13 Horned Frogs 4-3. The Deacs took the doubles point and Romain Bogaerts, Skander Mansouri and Maksim Kan picked up singles victories en route to the win. Wake Forest's previous two trips to the Sweet 16 came in 2007 and 2009.
After a sluggish start to doubles in the first round against George Washington, the Deacs came out Saturday on fire with multiple breaks on each court, all in all winning 10 games before Pepperdine could get its first game on the board. Wake Forest ultimately took the point with 8-2 wins at No. 3 from Keivon Tabrizi and Sam Bloom and at No. 2 from Noah Rubin and Jon Ho. At No. 1, Mansouri and Christian Seraphim were leading 7-3 before the match was left unfinished with the Deacs up 1-0.
Wake Forest kept the momentum as the match transitioned to singles with Mansouri giving the Deacs a 2-0 lead after taking a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 over Stefan Menichella. Rubin, the sixth-ranked player in the nation, followed Mansouri with a tough 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 1 over Guiherme Hadlich. During the second set, Rubin trailed 4-3 before rattling off three games in a row to clinch the victory.
Bogaerts, the 16th-ranked player in the nation, clinched the record-breaking win at No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Rakshay Thakkar. Bogaerts battled through a long deuce game leading 4-3 before ultimately coming away with a break to make it 5-3. He then held serve and hit a cross-court winner to the right side to send Wake Forest to the Sweet 16.
#12 Wake Forest 4, #39 Pepperdine 0
Singles competition
1. #6 Noah Rubin (WF) def. Guilherme Hadlich (PEP) 6-1, 6-4
2. #16 Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) 6-1, 6-4
3. Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Stefan Menichella (PEP) 6-4, 6-2
4. Christian Seraphim (WF) vs. Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) 7-6 (7-2), 1-5, unfinished
5. Keivon Tabrizi (WF) vs. Lautaro Pane (PEP) 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
6. Maksim Kan (WF) vs. Tom Hill (PEP) 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #13 Christian Seraphim/Skander Mansouri (WF) vs. Guilherme Hadlich/Rakshay Thakkar (PEP) 7-3, unfinished
2. Jon Ho/Noah Rubin (WF) def. Lautaro Pane/Pedro Iamachkine (PEP) 8-2
3. Sam Bloom/Keivon Tabrizi (WF) def. Stefan Menichella/Tom Hill (PEP) 8-2
Match Notes
Pepperdine 18-9; National ranking #39
Wake Forest 23-7; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,1,2)
NCAA Men's Tennis Championship - Second Round
Wake Forest earns school-record 24th win
T-2:34 A-304
Players Mentioned
