Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Texas
Deacs Hold Off Longhorns In ITA Thriller
2/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 2 Wake Forest held off a late rally by No. 11 Texas to advance to the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Saturday, Feb. 18. Redshirt freshman Alan Gadjiev's 6-4 third-set victory lifted the Deacs to a 4-3 victory over the Longhorns.
With the team score tied at 3-all, all eyes were on court six as Gadjiev faced Texas' (10-2) Rodrigo Banzer. Banzer claimed the first set, 6-4, before the two individuals played to a tiebreaker in the second set. In the tiebreaker, it was all Gadjiev, as he cruised to a 7-1 victory to force a third and final set. The two players traded games back and forth until Gadjiev earned a late break to seal the 6-4 victory and send the Deacs (8-0) to their first-ever ITA National Indoor semifinal appearance.
Gadjiev's gritty finish mirrored the gritty start for the Deacs, who won on courts one and two to claim the doubles point to open action Saturday at Boar's Head Sports Club. After the duo of Chrysochos and Uspensky fell on court three, Mansouri and Seraphim evened the doubles matches at 1-all with a 7-5 victory on the first court. Gadjiev and doubles partner Borna Gojo were pushed to a tiebreaker on court two against the 26th-ranked doubles team in the country, but walked away with a 7-2 tiebreaker victory to put the Deacs up 1-0 in the match.
Singles action was closely contested, as four of the six matches went to a third and final set. Skander Mansouri, the 10th-ranked player in the country, quickly made it 2-0 in favor of Wake Forest, as he cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 2 singles over George Goldhoff.
The No. 1 singles match featured a pair of players ranked in the top five in the country as Petros Chrysochos (No. 1) faced Christian Sigsgaard (No. 5). After dropping the first set 6-3, Chrysochos rebounded to take the next two sets, 6-4, 6-0, to push the Deacs ahead, 3-0.
No. 26 Chrisitan Seraphim was on the wrong side of a pair of tiebreakers as he fell to No. 45 Yuya Ito, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (9-7) on court four. Texas made it 3-2 when No. 58 Harrison Scott defeated Gojo in three sets in the No. 3 slot. The freshman claimed the first set 6-3, before falling 7-5 in the second. Gojo couldn't regain the momentum, falling 6-2 in the third.
Dennis Uspensky dropped the first set of his match at No. 5, 6-2, before evening the match with a 6-2 victory in the second set. He was unable to clinch the match as he fell 6-3 in the third set, putting the outcome of Saturday's match in the hands of Gadjiev.
Wake Forest advances to the semifinals where the Deacs will face Ohio State, the No. 3 seed in the tournament and the No. 3 team in the country. First serve is set for 12 p.m.
No. 2 Wake Forest 4, No. 11 Texas 3
Singles Results
1. #1 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. #5 Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. #10 Skander Mansouri (WF) def. George Goldhoff (UT), 6-2, 6-2
3. #58 Harrison Scott (UT) def. Borna Gojo (WF), 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. #45 Yuya Ito (UT) def. #26 Christian Seraphim, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (9-7)
5. Leo Telles (UT) def. Dennis Uspensky (WF), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
6. Alan Gadjiev (WF) def. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,1,4,3,5,6
Doubles Results
1. #1 Mansouri/Seraphim (WF) def. Telles/Goldhoff (UT), 7-5
2. Gojo/Gadjiev (WF) def. #27 Scott/Ito (UT), 7-6 (7-2)
3. Sigsgaard/Zlobinsky (UT) def. Chrysochos/Uspensky (WF), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Players Mentioned
