Wake Forest Athletics
Saturday, January 19
Winston-Salem, N.C.
6:00 PM
Wake Forest University
5
vs
2
Arizona State
Photo by: Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film
Top-Ranked Deacs Take Down No. 24 Arizona State
1/19/2019 10:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Wake Forest defeats its first ranked opponent of the season
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – On a night where the Wake Forest men's tennis team was presented with their NCAA Championship rings, the Demon Deacons picked up their first ranked victory of the 2019 season with a 5-2 victory over No. 24 Arizona State inside the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
Wake Forest (3-0) got off to a slow start, dropping the doubles point to the visiting Sun Devils (0-2). A pair of freshmen teamed up at the No. 3 spot, as Melios Efstathiou and Siddhant Banthia cruised to a 6-1 victory. Arizona fought back, however, taking a pair of 7-5 victories to jump ahead 1-0.
The Deacs quickly responded in singles action by taking the first set on five of the six courts. Banthia continued his dominant evening, evening the match at 1-all behind 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles. Petros Chrysochos put the Demon Deacons ahead for good moments later with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at the top singles position.
With a lead in hand, Wake Forest continued to apply pressure at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots. First, Julian Zlobinsky took care of business in the fifth position, picking up a 6-4, 6-3 win. Efstathiou clinched the victory at No. 3 singles, defeating Justin Roberts 6-4, 6-2.
With the match in hand, Bar Botzer and Rrezart Cungu each played a pair of three-set matches. Botzer claimed the final two sets of a 5-7-, 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 2 while Cungu fell 6-2, 2-6, 2-6, at No. 4.
The Deacs return to action Friday and Saturday, January 25-26, for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Wake Forest will play BYU at 5 p.m., which follows Old Dominion and Memphis. The two winners and losers will then pair of on Saturday, with the team that finishes 2-0 advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Wake Forest (3-0) got off to a slow start, dropping the doubles point to the visiting Sun Devils (0-2). A pair of freshmen teamed up at the No. 3 spot, as Melios Efstathiou and Siddhant Banthia cruised to a 6-1 victory. Arizona fought back, however, taking a pair of 7-5 victories to jump ahead 1-0.
The Deacs quickly responded in singles action by taking the first set on five of the six courts. Banthia continued his dominant evening, evening the match at 1-all behind 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles. Petros Chrysochos put the Demon Deacons ahead for good moments later with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph at the top singles position.
With a lead in hand, Wake Forest continued to apply pressure at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots. First, Julian Zlobinsky took care of business in the fifth position, picking up a 6-4, 6-3 win. Efstathiou clinched the victory at No. 3 singles, defeating Justin Roberts 6-4, 6-2.
With the match in hand, Bar Botzer and Rrezart Cungu each played a pair of three-set matches. Botzer claimed the final two sets of a 5-7-, 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 2 while Cungu fell 6-2, 2-6, 2-6, at No. 4.
The Deacs return to action Friday and Saturday, January 25-26, for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Wake Forest will play BYU at 5 p.m., which follows Old Dominion and Memphis. The two winners and losers will then pair of on Saturday, with the team that finishes 2-0 advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Dominik Kellovsky / 0 [ASU]
13
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Nathan Ponwith / 0 [ASU]
731
566
#3 Singles Match
12
Justin Roberts / 0 [ASU]
42
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Tim Ruehl / 0 [ASU]
266
622
#5 Singles Match
12
Makey Rakotomalala / 0 [ASU]
43
66
#6 Singles Match
12
William Kirkman / 0 [ASU]
12
66
Order of Finish:
6,1,5,3,4,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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