Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Duke
No. 2 Deacs Defeat No. 43 Blue Devils, 5-2
3/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
DURHAM, N.C. -- The No. 2-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team won its fourth consecutive match over a ranked opponent, and its second-straight against an in-state opponent, Sunday as the Demon Deacons defeated No. 43 Duke, 5-2.
With the victory, Wake Forest improves to 13-1 on the year, including a 2-0 mark in ACC play and a 9-1 record against ranked opponents.
The Deacs' top two doubles teams gave Wake Forest an early 1-0 lead over the Blue Devils (8-5, 1-2 ACC). Borna Gojo and Alan Gadjiev set the tone with a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles before Duke pulled even with a 6-4 decision on court 3. With the doubles point on the line, the second-ranked tandem of Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim closed out doubles play with a 6-4 decision in the top slot to clinch the doubles point.
Wake Forest quickly pushed the advantage to 3-0 thanks to victories on courts 1 and 2. Petros Chrysochos, ranked second in the country, controlled the pace in the No. 1 slot, topping Catalin Mateas 6-2, 6-2. Gojo, ranked 76th and playing his first-ever match at No. 2 singles, collected his fourth victory over a ranked opponent as he bested No. 94 Nick Stachowiak, 6-4, 6-0.
After the Blue Devils earned a victory on court 4 to trim the Deacs' lead to 3-1, Seraphim clinched the match for Wake Forest in the No. 5 slot with a 6-3, 6-4 decision. Gadjiev extended the lead to 5-1 down on court six with straight sets victory. The redshirt freshman took the first set, 6-3, before being pushed to a tiebreaker in the second set, which he ultimately won, 7-5.
Duke closed out the match with a three-set victory at the No. 3 slot to cap the final score at 5-2 in favor of the visiting Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest returns to action on Thursday, March 16, as the Deacs travel to take on Georgia, the host site for the 2017 NCAA Championships. First serve in Athens is set for 3 p.m.
#2 Wake Forest 5, #43 Duke 2
Singles Results
1. #2 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. Catalin Mateas (DU), 6-2, 6-2
2. #76 Borna Gojo (WF) def. #94 Nick Stachowiak (DU), 6-4, 6-0
3. Spencer Furman (DU) def. #5 Skander Mansouri (WF), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
4. TJ Pura (DU) def. Dennis Uspensky (WF), 6-2, 6-3
5. #37 Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Ryan Dickerson (DU), 6-3, 6-4
6. Alan Gadjiev (WF) def. Jason Lapidus (DU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Order of Finish: (1,2,4,5,6,3)
Doubles Results
1. #2 Mansouri/Seraphim (WF) def. Stachowiak/Furman (DU), 6-4
2. Gojo/Gadjiev (WF) def. Dickerson/Lapidus (DU), 6-4
3. Mateas/Pura (DU) def. Chrysochos/Uspensky (WF), 6-4
Order of Finish: (2,3,1)
