Deacs Punch Ticket to ITA National Indoor Championships

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- No. 7 Wake Forest defeated Kentucky 4-2 on Saturday evening to punch its ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships hosted Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wis. Freshman Taha Baadi picked up his first career victory with the Deacs to clinch the match.

"Doubles was okay, I think Kentucky played really well in doubles so credit to them," head coach Tony Bresky said. "I didn't think we played poorly. We had chances at two and three, but it is early in the year and it is something we are going to work on. We were calm in the huddle after doubles and ultimately, we got four straight set wins against Kentucky. They are much improved from last year and the coaches have done a great job with their program. It was a great battle. Yesterday really helped us. It shows what kind of person and player Taha is going to be after losing yesterday he was pretty upset but he came out and clinched today. It was a really good win and we are excited to move on to Indoors."

For the second consecutive match, the Deacons lost the doubles point as Kentucky picked up 6-3, 6-3 victories on courts two and three, but Wake remained resilient to grab four singles matches for the win.

Sophomore Melios Efstathiou took to court three and brought in the first point for the Deac, defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2. Henri Squire finished just seconds later on court four with straight 6-4, 6-4 wins, handing the Deacons a 2-1 advantage.

Kentucky tied the match back up as 55th-ranked Alexandre LeBlanc defeated No. 56 Rrezart Cungu. Top player Bar Botzer put the momentum back on Wake's side bringing in a 6-4, 6-3 victory. The fate of the match was in the hands of Baadi on court two and Siddhant Banthia on court six.

Baadi won cruised through the first set winning 6-3, but faced some resilience from Millen Hurrion in the second set. Tied at 6-6, Baadi clinched the match winning the tiebreaker 7-4 to send the Deacs to the Indoor championships.

"It was an unbelievable feeling. I always knew college tennis had some crazy moments like this and being a part of one in my second college match ever with Wake Forest is an absolute explosion for me," Baadi said. "I am really happy, and I love my teammates. They were there for me the whole match and I don't think I could have done it without them."

Banthia won his first set 7-6 (2) and led 3-2 in the second frame before the match was clinched.

Wake Forest returns to action on Friday, Jan. 31 against UCF at the Wake Forets Tennis Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

FULL RESULTS
Singles
1. #43 Bar Botzer (WAKE) def. Liam Draxl (UK) 6-4, 6-3
2. Taha Baadi (WAKE) def. Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Melios Efstathiou (WAKE) def. Gabriel Diallo (UK) 6-4, 6-2
4. Henri Squire (WAKE) def. César Bourgois (UK) 6-4, 6-4
5. #55 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. #56 Rrezart Cungu (WAKE) 6-3, 6-3
6. #67 Siddhant Banthia (WAKE) vs. Kento Yamada (UK) 7-6 (7-2), 3-2, unfinished

Doubles
1. Eduardo Nava/Henri Squire (WAKE) vs. César Bourgois/Liam Draxl (UK) 5-6, unfinished
2. Gabriel Diallo/Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Bar Botzer/Taha Baadi (WAKE) 6-3
3. Alexandre LeBlanc/Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. Melios Efstathiou/Siddhant Banthia (WAKE) 6-3

Deacs Punch Ticket to ITA National Indoor Championships

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Taha Baadi

Siddhant Banthia

Bar Botzer

Rrezart Cungu

Melios Efstathiou

Eduardo Nava

Henri Squire

Wake Forest Athletics