Deacs Win Pair of Midweek Matchups

Wednesday, March 4

Winston-Salem, NC

4 PM

Wake Forest University

Duke

3/4/2020 10:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Grace Bolin, Wake Forest Athletic Communications

WINSTON-SALEM, NC- No. 14 Wake Forest men's tennis opened ACC play with a 4-3 victory over No. 24 Duke before sweeping UNCG 4-0 to close out the midweek doubleheader on Wednesday evening at the Wake Forest Tennis Center. The Deacs took to the outdoor courts for the first time at home this season.

Wake 4, Duke 3
The Deacons (11-3, 1-0 ACC) opened the match strong taking the doubles point and handing Duke its first doubles loss of the season. Bar Botzer and Rrezart Cungu paired up for a 6-2 win on the third court before 58^th-ranked Henri Squire and Eduardo Nava picked up a top-10 win over No. 8 Sean Sculley and Nick Stachowiak 6-4 on the top court to clinch the point.

The momentum remained with the Demon Deacons as Botzer cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory on the top court giving the Deacs a 2-0 lead. Duke (12-2, 1-1 ACC) captured the point on court two, but Melios Efstathiou picked up a 6-2, 7-5 win in the fourth spot to put Wake back on top by two, 3-1.

No. 95 Cungu defeated No. 103 Andrew Zhang 6-3, 6-4 in the sixth spot to clinch the first ACC match of the season. The remaining matches were played out and Duke earned wins on courts three and five.

Wake 4, UNCG 0
Wake Forest closed out the night with a 4-0 sweep over the UNCG Spartans. The Deacons once again won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. Efstathiou and Cungu took down Roger Rogowski and Cooper Wyett on court to before Matthew Thomson and Morgan Dill put Wake on the board with a 6-2 win over Hugh Knapp and Jack Burkill.

In singles play, the Deacs picked up three straight-set victories to seal the win over the Spartans. Cungu finished first in the fourth spot, defeating Nico Grewe 6-3, 6-2.

Squire moved back into the top spot with Botzer out o the lineup and delivered a 6-2, 6-4 victory to hand Wake Forest a 3-0 lead. Efstathiou cruised to a 6-1 first set win, but faced some resistance in the second set. The sophomore finished strong, clinching the match in a 7-6(5) second set tiebreak.

Up next, the Deacons will head west for a pair of matches against Arizona State and top-ranked USC on Sunday (March 8) and Tuesday (March 10). Wake will be back home on Friday to continue ACC play against Clemson.

FULL RESULTS

#14 Wake Forest 4, #24 Duke 3
Singles
1. #38 Bar Botzer (WAKE) def. #107 Nick Stachowiak (DU) 6-0, 6-0
2. Edu Guell (DU) def. Henri Squire (WAKE) 6-1, 6-4
3. Luca Keist (DU) def. Taha Baadi (WAKE) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
4. Melios Efstathiou (WAKE) def. Spencer Furman (DU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Garrett Johns (DU) def. Eduardo Nava (WAKE) 7-6 (4-7), 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-7)
6. #95 Rrezart Cungu (WAKE) def. #103 Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
1. #58 Henri Squire/Eduardo Nava (WAKE) def. #8 Sean Sculley/Nick Stachowiak (DU) 6-4
2. Taha Baadi/Melios Efstathiou (WAKE) vs. Spencer Furman/Luca Keist (DU) 5-6, unfinished
3. Bar Botzer/Rrezart Cungu (WAKE) def. Edu Guell/Garrett Johns (DU) 6-2

#14 Wake Forest 4, Spartans 0
Singles
1. Henri Squire (WAKE) def. Hugh Knapp (UNCG20) 6-2, 6-4
2. Melios Efstathiou (WAKE) def. Ollie Palmer (UNCG20) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Taha Baadi (WAKE) vs. Roger Rogowski (UNCG20) 3-6, 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
4. #95 Rrezart Cungu (WAKE) def. Nico Grewe (UNCG20) 6-3, 6-2
5. Yuval Soloman (WAKE) vs. Alexander Zuckerman (UNCG20) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
6. Matthew Thomson (WAKE) vs. Jack Burkill (UNCG20) 3-6, 6-3, unfinished

Doubles
1. #58 Henri Squire/Eduardo Nava (WAKE) vs. Nico Grewe/Ollie Palmer (UNCG20) 5-1, unfinished
2. Melios Efstathiou/Rrezart Cungu (WAKE) def. Roger Rogowski/Cooper Wyett (UNCG20) 6-0
3. Morgan Dill/Matthew Thomson (WAKE) def. Hugh Knapp/Jack Burkill (UNCG20) 6-2