Wake Forest Rolls Past SC State, 4-0, Books Highly Anticipated Rematch

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – A quick finish to the doubles point and three punishing straight-set victories in singles pushed the No. 9 Wake Forest men's tennis team past SC State, 4-0, in Friday's First Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

The win pushes Wake Forest (29-6) into the NCAA Second Round match for the seventh consecutive year, while SC State (7-6) ends their season.

Wake Forest is set to take on No. 35 Ohio State in a highly anticipated rematch of the 2018 NCAA National Championship on Saturday at 5 p.m. The rematch will determine who will advance to Orlando, Fla. for the Super Regional and play the winner of the Fort Worth Regional hosted by No. 7 TCU.

QUOTABLE:
"First off, congrats to South Carolina State on a very good year and winning their conference. Anytime time you play a conference champion you end up playing someone who has won a lot. The boys took care of business in challenging conditions with the pretty windy conditions. We got a routine doubles point which is nice. It was good to get back out here and get ready for a big challenge tomorrow." - Coach Tony Bresky

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Demon Deacons quickly opened up the floodgates as the duo of Robert Macaig and Henri Squire blew past the SC State's team of Diego Arzaluz and Selim Ben Ali, 6-2.
Following the trend, Taha Baadi and Melios Efstathiou clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 mark over Omer Berk Gorgun and Erwan Momo.
In singles, junior Siddhant Banthia was off court in 44 minutes after he took down Ali, 6-0, 6-1 to quickly double the Wake Forest lead.
After about an hour of play, No. 13 Squire and Rrezart Cungu earned straight set victories in quick succession to clinch match point for the Demon Deacons at 4-0.
Squire first knocked off Marcelo Mojica, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1, before Cungu finished off Arzaluz, 6-2, 6-2 on court four seconds later.
Play was halted on the three remaining courts as Wake Forest punched its ticket to play Ohio State in the Second Round on Saturday.

UP NEXT
The Deacs victory advanced them to Saturday's match against No. 35 Ohio State. First serve for the NCAA Second Round is slated for 5:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS
Singles competition
#13 Henri Squire (WF) def. Marcelo Mojica (SCSU) 6-3, 6-0
#40 Eduardo Nava (WF) vs. Elyes Marouani (SCSU) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
#97 Taha Baadi (WF) vs. Omer Berk Gorgun (SCSU) 7-5, 3-4, unfinished
Rrezart Cungu (WF) def. Diego Arzaluz (SCSU) 6-2, 6-2
Melios Efstathiou (WF) vs. Luka Stefanovic (SCSU) 6-2, 4-4, unfinished
Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Selim Ben Ali (SCSU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles competition
#87 Siddhant Banthia/Matthew Thomson (WF) vs. Marcelo Mojica/Elyes Marouani (SCSU) 4-3, unfinished
Taha Baadi/Melios Efstathiou (WF) def. Omer Berk Gorgun/Erwan Momo (SCSU) 6-1
Robert Maciag/Henri Squire (WF) def. Diego Arzaluz/Selim Ben Ali (SCSU) 6-2

Match Notes:
South Carolina State 7-5, 2-0 MEAC
Wake Forest 28-6, 11-1 ACC; National ranking #9 Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,1,4)
NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Tournament - First Round Official: Rebel Good A-130

Wake Forest Rolls Past SC State, 4-0, Books Highly Anticipated Rematch

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Taha Baadi

Siddhant Banthia

Rrezart Cungu

Melios Efstathiou

Robert Maciag

Eduardo Nava

Henri Squire

Matthew Thomson