Wake Forest University
Auburn
Deacons Win ITA Kick-Off Opener, 4-1
1/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Despite dropping the doubles competition, the 11th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team came back to pick up a 4-1 victory against No. 59 Auburn in its first match of ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on Sunday.
The Demon Deacons, who improved to 3-0 on the season, will play No. 43 Tennessee on Monday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the 2016 ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. on Feb. 12-15. The Volunteers defeated Cal Poly in the Winston-Salem region's second match of the day.
The Tigers will face Mustangs in a consolation contest Monday at 11 a.m.
In doubles, Romain Bogaerts and Dennis Uspensky gave the Deacs a positive start with a 6-3 win at No. 2. Auburn's Maxime Hinnisdaels and Olle Thestrup quickly evened the competition with a triumph by the same score before the Tigers' Marko Krickovic and Edward Nguyen won a 7-6 (6) tiebreaker to claim the match's first point.
In singles, Uspensky finished first to knot the score at one, upending Brandon Laubser 6-3, 6-1. No. 103-ranked Jon Ho gave Wake Forest a lead it would not relinquish by downing Dante Saleh by a score of 6-3, 6-4 at the third position.
Not long after Ho put the Demon Deacons in front, Bogaerts closed out a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 to put his team on the cusp of victory.
To clinch the match, Christian Seraphim took down Thestrup, 6-2, 7-6 (5), at No. 6. After cruising to a 6-2 win in his first set, Seraphim fell behind, 5-2, in the second set before rallying to even the score at six to force a tiebreaker. The Munich, Germany native rallied again in the breaker, erasing a 5-3 deficit by reeling off four-straight points to seal the victory for the Deacs.
Petros Chrysochos and Skander Mansouri did not finish their matches at the top two spots, respectively.
After closing out ITA Kick-Off Weekend competition on Monday, the Deacons will make their first road trip of the season. They will face No. 28 Oklahoma State on Friday and second-ranked Oklahoma on Sunday.
No. 11 Wake Forest 4, No. 59 Auburn 1
Singles competition
1. Petros Chrysochos (WF) vs. No. 96 Maxime Hinnisdaels (AUB) 2-6, 6-0, 1-3, unfinished
2. No. 26 Skander Mansouri (WF) vs. No. 100 Marko Krickovic (AUB) 3-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. No. 103 Jon Ho (WF) def. Dante Saleh (AUB) 6-3, 6-4
4. Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. Conner Huertas (AUB) 6-3, 6-2
5. Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Brandon Laubser (AUB) 6-3, 6-1
6. Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Olle Thestrup (AUB) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Doubles competition
1. Marko Krickovic/Edward Nguyen (AUB) def. No. 25 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) 7-6 (6)
2. Romain Bogaerts/Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Brandon Laubser/Conner Huertas (AUB) 6-3
3. Maxime Hinnisdaels/Olle Thestrup (AUB) def. Jon Ho/Petros Chrysochos (WF) 6-3
Match Notes
Auburn 2-1, 0-0 SEC
Wake Forest 3-0, 0-0 ACC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,3,4,6)
Players Mentioned
