Wake Forest University
Baylor (NCAA First Round)
Deacs Drop Hard-Fought NCAA Tourney Match to Baylor
5/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
ATHENS, Ga. – Battling back-and-forth match throughout the afternoon Friday, the 26th-ranked Wake Forest women's tennis ultimately dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 40 Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia.
After losing the doubles point, Wake Forest battled back from a 2-0 deficit but the Bears held on to advance to Saturday's second-round contest. With the loss, Wake Forest closes its best season since 2002 with a 19-10 record. The Demon Deacons won 19 matches for the seventh time in program history this season and for the first time since 2002.
"We knew it was going to be a very close match," said head coach Jeff Wyshner. "They finished second in the Big 12 and are historically a strong program. We came out and showed a little bit of youth in the doubles. They took full advantage of that, as a more experienced team should be able to do. We came back out in singles and did a great job of forgetting the doubles and it came down to the last two matches on the court. We've had an incredible season. It's our first time in the NCAA's in seven years and we don't have a senior in our starting six spots. It's a big step forward for us. We would have liked to get this one, but you have to credit Baylor because they did a great job."
Wake Forest opened the match in dropping a tight doubles point. Though Kimmy Guerin and Anna Ulyashchenko posted a 6-3 win at No. 1 to get the Demon Deacons halfway to winning the point, Wake Forest couldn't finish it off as Luisa Fernandez and Andrea Retolaza Andrade dropped a tough match at No. 3 and Sam Asch and Emma Davis fell after dropping a break at 4-4 as Baylor went on to clinch the point.
As the match transitioned to singles, the Deacs freshmen trio of Davis, Ulyashchenko and Joanna Zalewski each jumped out to quick leads in taking first sets by scores of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1 at Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Though Fernandez dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision at No. 6, Ulyashchenko got Wake Forest on the board with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Rhiann Newborn at No. 3 and Davis followed suit minutes later with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Kiah Generette at No. 2.
From there, Guerin dropped a 7-6 (5), 6-1 decision even though she battled back from a 2-5 deficit in the first set to force a tiebreaker. Baylor clinched the match with a win at No. 5 as Asch fell 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 to Elizabeth Profit.
In the final two matches on court – Asch at No. 5 and Zalewski at No. 4 – Asch swept her second set in style to force a third set and while the two fought back and forth with each coming through with breaks of the other, Profit ultimately held on with a hold and break for the win. At No. 4 Zalewski raced out to a 6-1, 5-2 lead and had match point in the second set before Karina Traxler fought back to win a tiebreaker. In the third set, the two posted multiple breaks of each other before the match was abandoned because of Profit's win at No. 5.
Each of Wake Forest's six singles players on the day finish the 2015-16 season with at least 21 wins. Zalewski closed her freshman campaign with a singles record of 30-7 while Davis was second on the team with a 28-15 mark. Fernandez posted a mark of 25-13 on the season, Ulyashchenko a record of 24-14 and Guerin a mark of 21-17. Looking ahead to 2016-17, Wake Forest loses three seniors for what will be Wyshner's seventh season with the program in Retolaza Andrade, Kasey Gardiner and Xue Zhang. The Demon Deacons will welcome two new faces to the program next season in Alexis Franco and Chandler Carter. Both signed with the Demon Deacons during the NLI early signing period.
#40 Baylor 4, #26 Wake Forest 2
Singles competition:
1. #91 Blair Shankle (BU) def. #64 Kimmy Guerin (WF) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
2. #111 Emma Davis (WF) def. Kiah Generette (BU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) def. Rhiann Newborn (BU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Joanna Zalewski (WF) vs. Karina Traxler (BU) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 3-4, unfinished
5. Elizabeth Profit (BU) def. Samantha Asch (WF) 6-4, 0-6, 6-4
6. Theresa Van Zyl (BU) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. #62 Kimmy Guerin/Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) def. #20 Blair Shankle/Kiah Generette (BU) 6-3
2. Rhiann Newborn/Karina Traxler (BU) def. Samantha Asch/Emma Davis (WF) 6-4
3. Theresa Van Zyl/Elizabeth Profit (BU) def. Luisa Fernandez/Andrea Retolaza (WF) 6-4
Match Notes:
Baylor 18-14, 6-3; National ranking #40
Wake Forest 19-10, 7-7; National ranking #26
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,3,2,1,5)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Henry Feild Stadium
Official: Richard Rogers T-3:15 A-102
Players Mentioned
