
Deacs Come Back to Top Yellow Jackets, 5-2
3/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The top-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team rallied from an early deficit to defeat No. 17 Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. Trailing 2-1, the Demon Deacons claimed the final four singles matches of the day to top the Yellow Jackets, 5-2.
Wake Forest improved to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in ACC play as the Demon Deacons extended their winning streak to nine. Georgia Tech dropped its first ACC match of the season, falling to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Out of the gate, the Deacs cruised to the doubles point behind victories on courts 1 and 3. Petros Chrysochos and Dennis Uspensky jumped out to an early lead in the No. 3 slot before closing out their set, 6-2. The top-ranked duo of Christian Seraphim and Skander Mansouri clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory in the No. 1 doubles position. Borna Gojo and Alan Gadjiev saw their match go unfinished at 4-all on court 2.
The Deacs' lead quickly evaporated as singles play began, with the Yellow Jackets opening up a 2-1 advantage. Georgia Tech won five of the first six sets and took the lead over the Demon Deacons after Chrysochos and Gadjiev dropped straight-sets matches on courts 1 and 6, respectively.
Wake Forest's comeback bid began on court 2 as Skander Mansouri was forced to rally after finding himself in an early hole. Mansouri dropped the opening set of his match, 6-4, before being pushed to a tiebreaker in the second set, which he ultimately won 8-6. The junior then closed out the match and evened the team score at 2-all with a 6-3 triumph in the third set.
After dropping the first set of his match at No. 3 singles, Gojo found himself in a 5-2 hole in the second set. The freshman rallied to take the second, 7-5, and carried the momentum into a third-set victory, 6-1, to put the Deacs ahead 3-2. Seraphim clinched the match for Wake Forest in the No. 5 slot after outlasting his opponent in a three-set match. The redshirt junior took the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-5, before dropping the second set. In the end, Seraphim would take the third set, 6-4, as the Demon Deacons secured its 17th victory of the season.
With the match in hand, Uspensky split the first two sets of his match at No. 4 before taking the third set to a tiebreaker. Uspensky held on for the 7-4 decision in the tiebreaker as the Deacs completed the comeback, 5-2.
Wake Forest returns home on Friday, March 31, as the top-ranked Demon Deacons take on No. 2 Virginia in a rematch of last year's ACC Championship match. First serve at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3 as part of the USTA's 2017 College MatchDay Series.
#1 Wake Forest 5, #17 Georgia Tech 2
Singles Results
1. #9 Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. No. 2 Petros Chrysochos (WF), 6-1, 6-4
2. #14 Skander Mansouri (WF) def. #102 Andrew Li (GT), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
3. #57 Borna Gojo (WF) def. Carlos Benito (GT), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Dennis Uspensky (WF) def. Carlos Divar (GT), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
5. #50 Christian Seraphim (WF) def. Cole Fiegel (GT), 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-4
6. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Alan Gadjiev (WF), 7-5, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1,6,2,3,5,4
Doubles Results
1. #1 Seraphim/Mansouri (WF) def. #75 Benito/Divar (GT), 6-4
2. Gojo/Gadjiev (WF) def. Li/Fiegel (GT), 4-4, unfinished
3. Chrysochos/Uspensky (WF) def. Eubanks/Yun (GT), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,1