No. 10 Wake Forest Sweeps No. 23 Auburn, Advances to Regional Championship

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The 10th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team earned its second top-25 win of the season as the Demon Deacons defeated No. 23 Auburn, 4-0, Friday to advance to the championship match of the Wake Forest Regional.

With Friday's victory, the Demon Deacons (7-0, 0-0 ACC) will move on to face Middle Tennessee tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. The winner of tomorrow's clash between the Demon Deacons and the Blue Raiders will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships, held Feb. 17-20 in Chicago, Ill.

Friday's win over No. 23 Auburn marked Wake Forest's fourth sweep of the season, while improving the Deacs to 47-12 against non-conference foes over the past three years. Additionally, Friday's win marked the Demon Deacons' 15th top-25 win in the past three seasons.

After securing the doubles point against the Tigers, the Demon Deacons earned three-straight singles victories as Juan Lopez de Azcona, Melios Efstathiou and Jurabek Karimov all won in straight sets to secure the 4-0 sweep for the Deacs.

How It Happened

Wake Forest got off to an excellent start as the Deacs held a 2-1 advantage in each doubles match through three sets.
Luciano Tacchi/Jurabek Karimov earned a 6-4 win on Court 2 to notch the first doubles victory of the contest.
Shortly after, Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou secured a 7-6 win on Court 3 to secure the doubles point for Wake Forest.
- Wake Forest has earned the doubles point in all but two matches this season.
Heading into singles action leading 1-0, the Demon Deacons came out strong as the Deacs led on 5-of-6 singles courts in the early going.
The first Demon Deacon to register a singles victory was Juan Lopez de Azcona as he secured a 6-2, 6-1 decision on Court 6 to give Wake Forest a 2-0 lead.
- For his career, Lopez is a stellar 18-1 in duals singles matches.
Minutes later, Melios Efstathiou earned a 6-2, 6-1 victory on Court 2 to move the Deacs within one point of securing a spot in the championship of the Wake Forest Regional.
Jurabek Karimov then clinched the sweep as he notched a 6-4, 6-2 win on Court 4.
- Karimov has now clinched two of the Deacs' past three matches.
With Karimov's win, the Demon Deacons move on to face Middle Tennessee in the championship of the Wake Forest Regional.

Singles Results
1. Filippo Moroni (WFU) vs. Tyler Stice (AUB) 7-6, 2-2, unfinished
2. Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Will Nolan (AUB) 6-2, 6-1
3. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) vs. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 5-7, 4-1, unfinished
4. Jurabek Karimov (WFU) def. Jan Galka (AUB) 6-4, 6-2
5. Matthew Thomson (WFU) vs. Finn Murgett (AUB) 0-6, 7-5, unfinished
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Billy Blaydes (AUB) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles Results
1. Filippo Moroni/Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) vs. Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai (AUB) 6-6 (6-6), unfinished
2. Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Jan Galka/Billy Blaydes (AUB) 6-4
3. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Tyler Stice/Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 7-6 (7-5)

From Coach Bresky
"First, I have a lot of respect for Auburn, who played excellently. We were fortunate to win the doubles point and we rode that momentum into singles. After an impressive victory like last week, you can either relax or use it as motivation and we used it as motivation. Tomorrow, we face another strong opponent in Middle Tennessee." - Coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
Wake Forest will return to action tomorrow, facing Middle Tennessee at 5:00 p.m. inside the Indoor Tennis Center.

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No. 10 Wake Forest Sweeps No. 23 Auburn, Advances to Regional Championship

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Melios Efstathiou

Jurabek Karimov

Juan Lopez de Azcona

Filippo Moroni

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson