Wake Forest University
Troy
Deacs Prep For National Tennis Classic in Montgomery
2/24/2022 10:37:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis takes an out-of-state trip for the weekend.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Rounding out February, Wake Forest women's tennis will compete on the road for the first time this month during the weekend. A familiar event involves the Demon Deacons in Montgomery, Alabama: the annual 'Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.'
Wake Forest opens play on Friday morning (Feb. 25) with a quarterfinal contest against Troy University (4-2) at 12:30 p.m. ET, held at Lagoon Park. In a traditional format for the classic, semifinal and consolation matchups will make up Friday's afternoon portion (5:30 p.m. ET) for doubles. Singles competition in the seminal and consolation rounds is scheduled for Saturday morning at a time to be determined before the championship round takes place.
Fans can follow the action via live scoring updates on the event's website.
The invitational enters its 74th year. Wake Forest most recently partook in 'Blue Gray' back in the 2020 spring season, winning the title match over Princeton, who was ranked No. 5 in the country at the time.
The Deacs are currently on a four-match winning streak.
Last Time Out
Wake Forest 5, Furman 2
For the second time in three matches, No. 9 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth grabbed a 6-0 sweep in doubles, being the first Wake Forest pair to attain a late morning win. After Furman won in second doubles, Saby Nihalani/Peyton Pesavento impressively made a slight comeback to win their match, 6-4, notching the first team point.
Four Deacs got off to a big lead in their respective first sets, led by No. 38 Carolyn Campana's 6-0 sweep. Samantha Martinelli was the first Wake Forest player to reach a singles win, immediately followed by Carolyn in a ranked victory.
Furman won in second singles to trail in the match, 3-1.
No. 50 Casie Wooten found herself in an absolute dogfight, ultimately staying alive to notch a two-set win that concluded in a tiebreaker period. Overcoming long rallies, the sophomore's effort through fatigue secured the team's match victory.
Anna Brylin extended Wake Forest's lead with a singles win of her own, retaining a dialed-in focus throughout three lengthy sets.
Wake Forest 7, NCCU 0
Wake Forest moved indoors for the second portion of its doubleheader and shook up its lineup before facing North Carolina Central.
A doubles pairing of Maddie Lynch and Mia Ahmad set the tone, going for a 6-1 win on court three. Right next to them were Carolyn Campana and Saby Nihalani, teaming up for a 6-2 victory that clinched the doubles point for the Black and Old Gold.
After each of Wake Forest's competitors within singles won their respective first sets, Lynch and Nihalani both finished their matches on two-set sweeps. Anna Campana and Peyton Pesavento wrapped up their solo play next, and Casie Wooten gave one last knockout en route to a final decision that featured tremendous play from all Deacs involved.
Revamped Rankings
Wake Forest made a splash into the United States Tennis Association Top 25 poll on Wednesday (Feb. 23), earning a place at the 25th spot after receiving votes for the past two weeks.
The Deacs also landed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) weekly Top 25 poll on Feb. 23, ranking 18th out of 75 programs listed.
Solo Standouts
This season, Anna Brylin has gotten off to an exceptional start in singles play, resting at a 6-0 clip. Five of her six matches have ended in two sets of play, as the senior posted back-to-back wins of 6-1, 6-1 versus South Carolina and Campbell on Feb. 5.
As a sophomore, Casie Wooten is second on the team in solo wins (6-1). The Torrance, California native has impressively clinched match points for Wake Forest in two of the squad's last three showings. Her first career ranked victory happened in the South Carolina matchup, defeating Megan Davies, who stood at No. 118 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings at the time.
A Look into the Field
Troy University, the Decs' first weekend opponent, has won its last four matches. The Trojans are led by senior Franziska Ahrend and freshman Hagar Amin, each of whom have picked up three singles wins in a row.
Other tournament participants include:
Alabama
Arizona
Furman University
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Yale
The Blue Gray Classic headlines several nationally-ranked teams and players:
ITA Team Rankings:
No. 10 - Oklahoma State
No. 18 - Wake Forest
No. 24 - Texas Tech
No. 26 - Alabama
No. 42 - Furman University
No. 66 - Arizona
ITA Singles Rankings:
No. 17 - Margarita Skriabina (Texas Tech)
No. 30 - Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Oklahoma State)
No. 38 - Carolyn Campana (Wake Forest)
No. 44 - Ayelina Sayfetdinova (Texas Tech)
No. 50 - Casie Wooten (Wake Forest)
No. 62 - Julia Adams (Furman University)
No. 101 - Loudmilla Bencheikh (Alabama)
ITA Doubles Rankings:
No. 9 - Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (Wake Forest)
No. 17 - Loudmilla Bencheikh/Anne Marie Hiser (Alabama)
No. 22 - Samantha Martinelli/Casie Wooten (Wake Forest)
No. 37 - Jessie Gong/Chelsea Kung (Yale)
Up Next
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play starts for Wake Forest next week, as the Deacs are back home to face Miami (March 4) and Florida State (March 6).
Players Mentioned
