Fourth-Seeded Deacs Blank Morgan State in NCAA Opener

Friday, May 3

Winston-Salem, N.C.

4:00 PM

Wake Forest University

Morgan State

Photo by: Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film

Fourth-Seeded Deacs Blank Morgan State in NCAA Opener

5/3/2019 7:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Wake Forest will face Kentucky in the Round of 32 of Saturday

By: By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMTennis)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The reigning NCAA champions opened their title defense in dominating fashion Friday (May 3), as the Demon Deacons swept Morgan State, 5-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.

With the win, Wake Forest (30-3) will advance to Saturday's Round of 32 where they will meet Kentucky. First serve is set for 3 p.m., one hour earlier than the originally scheduled 4 p.m. start due to the threat of inclement weather late in the afternoon on Saturday.

Saturday will be a rematch of two years ago when the Demon Deacons beat the Wildcats, 4-2, in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship in Winston-Salem.

The Deacs' dominance began in doubles, as the freshmen duo of Melios Efstathiou and Siddhant Banthia cruised to a 6-2 win at the No. 3 spot. Borna Gojo and Alan Gadjiev made quick work in the top doubles spot, earning a 6-1 win to secure the doubles point against Morgan State (14-8).

Wake Forest nearly recorded a perfect opening set across all six singles courts, winning 6-0 on Courts 1-5 and 6-1 at the No. 6 spot. From there, it was a race to see who would finish first.

Petros Chrysochos was first off the courts at the No. 2 position, winning 6-0, 6-1. Efstathiou followed shortly thereafter, matching Chrysochos' 6-0, 6-1 score at No. 5 singles.

Banthia and Rrezart Cungu, playing on courts next to each other, were simultaneously in the middle of match points. Banthia won closed out a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles to clinch the match moments before Cungu won his match at No. 4 singles. By virtue of being in the middle of the point when the match was clinched, Cungu's match was also listed as officially finished, capping the Deacs' 5-0 victory.