Wake Forest University
#34 Texas Tech
Deacs Fall Short in ‘Blue Gray Classic’ Championship
2/26/2022 8:57:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis split nationally-ranked matchups on Saturday.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Stepping into the final day of the 74th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on Saturday (Feb. 26), Wake Forest women's tennis found itself in a dogfight on two separate occasions. Bouncing back from a loss in doubles, the Demon Deacons knocked off No. 24 Texas Tech in the semifinal round, 4-2, for their first nationally-ranked win of the 2022 campaign.
Sophomore Casie Wooten, listed at No. 84 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, picked up her second career ranked singles victory during the feat. Additionally, Samantha Martinelli made an admirable comeback during her solo match to punch Wake Forest's ticket to the championship round.
Facing a top-10 foe in Oklahoma State, the Deacs battled hard after suffering another loss in doubles but fell short in a 4-2 decision by the Cowgirls.
Wake Forest has now appeared in the Blue Gray Classic final in each of the last four times the program has partook in the event. Most recently, in February 2020, the Deacons took home the crown.
How it Happened
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Wake Forest fell to No. 24 Texas Tech in doubles on Friday night (Feb. 25). Singles play unfolded during Saturday morning.
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No. 84 Casie Wooten, Anna Brylin, and Anna Campana all hung on for first-set wins in singles against Texas Tech.
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Samantha Martinelli caught fire in grabbing a come-from-behind 6-4 win in her second after falling in the first.
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The Red Raiders won in first singles to take a 2-0 lead.
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Wooten and Brylin responded by winning their respective singles showings to even the morning match at 2 apiece. It was Wooten's second ranked solo win of the year, defeating No. 62 Avelina Sayfetdinova.
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In a likewise fashion to Martinelli, Brooke Killingsworth forced her way into a third set.
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Anna Campana placed a pair 6-4 wins through two sets to keep Wake Forest nearby on the scoreboard.
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Martinelli clinched the semifinal in a three-set victory of her own, having trailed in each of her first two frames.
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Wake Forest moved on to face No. 10 Oklahoma State in a late-afternoon championship matchup.
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Oklahoma State struck first by taking the doubles point.
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The Cowgirls upped their lead to 2-0 after winning in second singles.
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Martinelli again had a big moment of the day, cutting into Oklahoma State's lead, 2-1, with her two-set victory.
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Killingsworth won her first match of the day in sixth singles, as the sophomore stayed poised through three periods.
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Nonetheless, Oklahoma State had enough of an edge to capture the title match, 4-2.
Championship
Singles Results vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State
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No. 50 Lisa Marie Rioux (OSU) def. No. 44 Carolyn Campana (WF) 6-4, 6-3
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No. 29 Mananchaya Sawangkaew (OSU) def. Anna Campana (WF) 6-1, 6-1
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No. 84 Casie Wooten (WF) vs. Martina Zerulo (OSU) 5-7, 6-0, 4-1, unfinished
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No. 82 Oona Orpana (OSU) def. Anna Brylin (WF) 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
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Samantha Martinelli (WF) def. Ayumi Miyamoto (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
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Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Sofia Rojas (OSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles Results vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State
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No. 6 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (WF) vs. No. 58 Mananchaya Sawangkaew/Martina Zerulo (OSU) 4-4, unfinished
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No. 26 Ayumi Miyamoto/Lisa Marie Rioux (OSU) def. Samantha Martinelli/Casie Wooten (WF) 6-4
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Oona Orpana/Alana Wolfberg (OSU) def. Saby Nihalani/Peyton Pesavento (WF) 6-2
Semifinals
Singles Results vs. No. 24 Texas Tech:
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No. 16 Margarita Skriabina (TTU) def. No. 44 Carolyn Campana (WF) 6-2, 6-2
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Anna Campana (WF) def. Olivia Peet (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
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No. 84 Casie Wooten (WF) def. No. 62 Avelina Sayfetdinova (TTU) 6-3, 6-1
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Anna Brylin (WF) def. Kailey Evans (TTU) 6-3, 6-4
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Samantha Martinelli (WF) def. Metka Komac (TTU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
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Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Bojana Marinkov (TTU) 4-6, 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
Doubles Results vs. No. 24 Texas Tech:
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No. 6 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Margarita Skriabina/Cristina Tiglea (TT) 6-4
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Metka Komac/Kailey Evans (TT) def. Samantha Martinelli/Casie Wooten (WF) 6-1
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Avelina Sayfetdinova/Olivia Peet (TT) def. Saby Nihalani/Peyton Pesavento (WF) 7-5
Up Next
Wake Forest begins conference play next week, starting with home matches versus Miami (March 4) and Florida State (March 6).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
