Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Virginia Tech
Deacs Outlast Hokies to Reach ACC Final
4/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
CARY, N.C. – The second-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team punched its ticket to the ACC Tournament championship match with a 4-2 victory over sixth-seeded Virginia Tech in the semifinal round on Saturday at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.
Deacon freshman Dennis Uspensky clinched the victory by erasing a one-set deficit to win, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 6 after the Hokies cut the Deacs' lead from 3-0 to 3-2.
The Demon Deacons will play top-seeded and top-ranked Virginia at 2 p.m. at Cary Tennis Park for the conference championship. The match will also air on ESPN3. The Deacs are in search of their first league title in their seventh title match appearance. The Cavaliers will vie for their 10th-consecutive ACC championship.
No. 36-ranked Virginia Tech had a strong start to the afternoon as Amerigo Contini and Edoardo Tessaro posted a 6-0 shutout at No. 2 doubles. Seventh-ranked Wake Forest bounced back, however, as Uspensky and Romain Bogaerts held off Jai Corbett and Mitch Harper in a 6-4 decision at No. 3 to level the doubles competition.
The Hokies were in position to claim the match's first point, as 15th-ranked Andreas Bjerrehus and Joao Monteiro took a 5-3 lead at the top doubles spot, but the Demon Deacon tandem of Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim would not go down. No. 13 Mansouri and Seraphim reeled off four game wins in a row to steal a 7-5 win and give the Deacons the lead in the match.
After each team claimed the first set on three singles courts, play was suspended due to rain. It took nearly three hours for the teams to resume the match.
Shortly after action continued, Petros Chrysochos completed a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 over No. 66 Andreas Bjerrehus. The Wake Forest rookie improved to 21-3 on the year, including 9-0 against ranked foes.
After Bogaerts won the final three games of his singles match at No. 4 to prevail, 6-4, 6-4, over No. 74-ranked Tessaro, Virginia Tech began to climb back into the match.
Harper, who won the first set at No. 5 but was trailing in the second set before the delay, seized the final five games of his contest to claim a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The Hokies trimmed the Demon Deacon lead to 3-2 with a three-set win by No. 22 Monteiro over Mansouri at No. 1 and seemed to have gained the momentum when No. 107-ranked Contini forced a third set at No. 3 by topping Ho, 7-5, in a tiebreaker in the second frame.
Uspensky dashed Virginia Tech's hopes, however, by outlasting Corbett, 7-5, in the second set before cruising to a 6-1 win in the tiebreaker to make it 4-2, Deacs. Uspensky now leads the team with 25 dual-match singles wins.
Ho had a 4-1 lead in the third set at No. 3 when Uspensky clinched.
Wake Forest added to its school-record win total with its 28th of the season. Eighteen of those victories have come against ranked teams.
No. 7 Wake Forest 4, No. 36 Virginia Tech 2
Singles competition
1. No. 22 Joao Monteiro (VT) def. No. 14 Skander Mansouri (WF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 19 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. No. 66 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) 6-2, 6-3
3. Jon Ho (WF) vs. No. 107 Amerigo Contini (VT) 6-1, 6-7 (5), 4-1, unfinished
4. No. 118 Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. No. 74 Edoardo Tessaro (VT) 6-4, 6-4
5. Mitch Harper (VT) def. Christian Seraphim (WF) 6-4, 6-4
6. Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Jai Corbett (VT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2,4,5,1,6
Doubles competition
1. No. 13 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) def. No. 15 Andreas Bjerrehus/Joao Monteiro (VT) 7-5
2. Amerigo Contini/Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. No. 78 Petros Chrysochos/Jon Ho (WF) 6-0
3. Romain Bogaerts/Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Jai Corbett/Mitch Harper (VT) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Players Mentioned
