Deacs Drop Battle with Illinois

CHICAGO, Ill. – Playing in its fifth match in the last nine days, and in front of a boisterous pro-Illinois crowd, the ninth-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to the Fighting Illini Saturday inside the XS Tennis Village in Chicago, Ill.

With the loss, the Demon Deacons (11-4, 0-0 ACC) will now move on to face No. 17 Stanford on Sunday. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Against Illinois Saturday, the Deacs picked up a 6-4 victory in third doubles but were unable to secure the point as the Fighting Illini notched a 6-4 win in first doubles and a 7-5 victory in second doubles.

Down 1-0 heading into singles play, the Demon Deacons fought to mount a comeback but were unable to overcome Illinois' in-state advantage and eventually fell, 4-1.

Of note, the Demon Deacons have now played five matches in the last nine days, three of which were against top-10 opponents. Additionally, the Deacs have faced five top-25 foes in their first 15 matches overall.

The live stream for Sunday's match against the Cardinal will be provided via Cracked Racquets, while the live stats can be found here.

How It Happened

Doubles play was tightly contested to start as each court featured a 3-2 ledger through the first five games.
Illinois struck first as Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo defeated Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni 6-4 in first doubles.
Wake Forest quickly responded as Melios Efsatathiou/Matthew Thomson earned a 6-4 decision over Gabrielius Guzauskas/Kenta Miyoshi in third doubles.
With doubles play tied 1-1, all eyes turned to second doubles as Lucaino Tacchi and Jurbek Karimov found themselves in a battle with Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins.
- Heck/Ozolins eventually came out victorious, 7-5, securing the doubles point for Illinois.
Down 1-0 heading into singles play, Wake Forest looked to seize the momentum from the Fighting Illini.
Like doubles play, Illinois came out strong in singles as Ozolins defeated Moroni 6-3, 6-2 to give the Fighting Illini a 2-0 lead.
Illinois then increased its advantage to 3-0 as Nic Meister knocked off Bozo Barun 6-4, 6-3 in sixth singles.
The Demon Deacons notched their first point of the match when Efsatathiou defeated Alex Petrov 6-1, 6-2 in first singles.
Up 3-1 for the match and leading on two of the three remaining courts, Illinois clinched the victory as No. 123 Heck edged Tacchi 6-3, 6-4.
Illinois defeated Wake Forest, 4-1.

Singles Results
1. Melios Efsatathiou (WF) def. Alex Petrov (ILL) 6-1, 6-2
2. Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. Filippo Moroni (WF) 6-3, 6-2
3. Hunter Heck (ILL) def. Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-3, 6-4
4. William Mroz (ILL) vs. Jurabek Karimov (WF) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
5. Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) vs. Matthew Thomson (WF) 5-7, 6-4, unfinished
6. Nic Meister (ILL) def. Bozo Barun (WF) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Results
1. Mathis Debru/Oliver Okonkwo (ILL) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WF) 6-4
2. Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (ILL) def. Luciano Tacchi/Jurabek Karimov (WF) 7-5
3. Melios Efsatathiou/Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas/Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 6-4

From Coach Bresky
"Tough match. Illinois outplayed us in the big moments. They had a great crowd, which was fun to play in front of but we just couldn't do quite enough to seize the momentum. We're looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow" - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will face Stanford in a consolation match tomorrow (Feb. 19) at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Jurabek Karimov

Juan Lopez de Azcona

Filippo Moroni

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson

Players Mentioned

Jurabek Karimov

Juan Lopez de Azcona

Filippo Moroni

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson

Wake Forest Athletics