Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Oklahoma
Wake Forest Upsets No. 2 Oklahoma, 5-2
1/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
NORMAN, Okla. - The 11th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team pulled off a 5-2 road upset of second-ranked Oklahoma at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. on Sunday afternoon. The Demon Deacons won the doubles point, as well as the first three singles matches to finish, to secure the victory.
The win, which improved the Demon Deacons' record to 5-1 on the year, was their first against the Sooners in five all-time meetings. It was also their first win over a top-five opponent since they defeated No. 5 Duke, 6-1, on April 16, 2005.
The afternoon began with a strong showing in the doubles point by the Deacs. Petros Chrysochos and Jon Ho gave the visitors and early edge with a 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot. The No. 25-ranked duo of Christian Seraphim and Skander Mansouri then sealed the first point of the match by holding off OU's No. 1 pairing of Axel Alvarez Llamas and Spencer Papa, 7-5.
Romain Bogaerts and Dennis Uspensky were leading, 5-4, at the No. 3 spot when Seraphim and Mansouri clinched.
The roll for Wake Forest carried over into singles as Chrysochos cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win at the second position to make it 2-0. After falling behind by a score of 3-1 in his first set, Seraphim stormed back against Andre Biro at No. 6 to win 6-4, 6-3. That triumph put the Deacons on the cusp of the team win, giving them a 3-0 lead.
To finish off the win, Bogaerts dispatched No. 92-ranked Alex Ghilea at No. 3. Bogaerts opened up a 5-1 lead in the first set, but Ghilea rallied to tie the score. Bogaerts recovered nicely, however, claiming eight of the match's final nine games to come out on top and seal the Deacs' first road win of the year.
After the Sooners, the NCAA Tournament runners up in 2015, got on the board with a win by retirement at No. 4 and a straight-set win by Maxime Mora at No. 5, Mansouri took down the 60th-ranked Alvarez in three sets to close out the dual match.
The loss snapped a Oklahoma's 38-match home winning streak that dated back to Match 12, 2013.
Wake Forest returns to action Friday at home against No. 59 South Carolina. The Demon Deacons will face Tennessee on the road two days later before making their debut at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships from Feb. 12-15 in Charlottesville, Va.
No. 11 Wake Forest 5, No. 2 Oklahoma 2
Singles competition
1. No. 26 Skander Mansouri (WF) def. No. 60 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4
2. Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. Spencer Papa (OU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. No. 92 Alex Ghilea (OU) 7-5, 6-1
4. Florin Bragusi (OU) def. No. 103 Jon Ho (WF) 4-6, 5-4, retire
5. Maxime Mora (OU) def. Dennis Uspensky (WF) 7-5, 6-3
6. Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Andre Biro (OU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 6, 3, 4, 5, 1
Doubles competition
1. No. 25 Christian Seraphim/Skander Mansouri (WF) def. Axel Alvarez Llamas/Spencer Papa (OU) 7-5
2. Petros Chrysochos/Jon Ho (WF) def. Austin Siegel/Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-1
3. Romain Bogaerts/Dennis Uspensky (WF) vs. Maxime Mora/Florin Bragusi (OU) 5-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1
Players Mentioned
