Deacs Split in Sunday Doubleheader at Home

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Eager to be back in the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center (ITC) for a second time this spring, the Demon Deacons' women's tennis team faced Old Dominion and Campbell in a Sunday doubleheader (Feb. 5).

For the second consecutive weekend, Wake Forest again had a testy battle against the Monarchs but ultimately fell, 5-2. Less than 90 minutes later, the Deacs regrouped in an exceptional, collective showing to sweep Campbell, 7-0.

Wake Forest sits at 3-3 overall on the season and is in the midst of a homestand, hosting three more scheduled contests through the next two weeks.

Match 1 – Old Dominion 5, Wake Forest 2

Sunday morning featured the second meeting in eight days between the Deacs and Monarchs. After dropping the doubles point, Wake Forest fought back to create a handful of tiebreakers and third sets before suffering a 5-2 defeat to Old Dominion.

Casie Wooten shined individually, notching her fourth career ranked singles win. The junior knocked off No. 37 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya in two sets. Anna Brylin also picked up a solo win.

Wake Forest moved to 11-4 all-time versus Old Dominion.

How it Happened

The two opening sets in both second and third doubles were split.
Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate soon displayed a strong focus in their fourth game to even the board at 2-2.
Old Dominion captured a sweep in first doubles.
Over on third, the freshman duo of Carton/Pate again forced a tied score (3-3).
Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten kept the fight going on court two, climbing back to trail 3-5 after losing a game.
Meanwhile, Carton/Pate reached their third consecutive tie (4-4).
The Monarchs ultimately secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win on second.
In singles, Carton pieced together a 4-1 start in her first frame.
- Killingsworth, Anna Brylin and Maddie Lynch all also began on a solid foot, leading 3-2 apiece.
Brylin stayed heady to take three more games in a row, becoming the first individual to win a set (6-2).
Wooten and Carton entered 5-5 ties as competition within their opening sets remained close.
Lynch went ahead in her match as set one concluded (6-4).
Action remained tight throughout, as Carton, Killingsworth, and Wooten all found themselves in first-set tiebreakers.
- Wooten made an admirable comeback, winning 7-6 (4).
  - The junior was Wake Forest's third player to grab a first-set victory.
Old Dominion upped its lead to 2-0 after winning in fifth singles.
Brylin kept rallies going into a third set on court two.
- The team captain won the frame's first three games.
Boosted from her comeback, first-set victory, Wooten got on a roll early within the second, holding a 4-1 gain.
Lynch walked her way into a third set in sixth singles.
Wooten kept her confidence high down the stretch, landing the fourth ranked solo win of her collegiate career.
- She downed No. 37 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya in straight sets.
Brylin delivered not long afterward to win in second singles and tie the margin at 2 all.
Carton, Killingsworth, and Lynch were the final Deacs remaining, all in third-set battles.
Old Dominion went ahead again, 3-2, on a court three win.
- The Monarchs clinched the match in fifth singles through three periods of play.
  - Carton played out her ongoing match.
Old Dominion finished victorious in fourth singles.
Wake Forest fell, 5-2.

Doubles Results:

Tatsiana Sasnouskaya/Sofia Johnson (ODU) def. No. 12 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (WF) 0-6
No. 52 Allison Isaacs/Alexandra Viktorovich (ODU) def. Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten (WF) 3-6
Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate (WF) vs. Alesya Yakubovich/Shahar Biran (ODU) 5-5, unfinished.

Order of Finish: 1, 2

Singles Results:

No. 27 Casie Wooten (WF) def. No. 37 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) 7-6 (4), 6-3
Anna Brylin (WF) def. Sofia Johnson (ODU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
No. 112 Shahar Biran (ODU) def. Brooke Killingsworth (WF) 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 1-6
Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) def. Nevena Carton (WF) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 5-7
Alexandra Viktorovich (ODU) def. Whitley Pate (WF) 3-6, 1-6
Allison Isaacs (ODU) def. Maddie Lynch (WF) 6-4, 2-6, 5-7

Order of Finish: 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 4

Match 2 – Wake Forest 7, Campbell 0

Looking to bounce back from the morning loss, Wake Forest came out swinging against the Camels. The Deacons dominated in doubles before sweeping through singles.

Each Wake Forest player won her singles match in straight-sets fashion.

Casie Wooten and Anna Brylin ended with their second solo wins of the afternoon.

Sunday was only the third all-time matchup between Wake Forest and Campbell. The Deacs remain undefeated in the series, 3-0.

How it Happened

Starting off in doubles, all three courts saw the Wake Forest pairs lead 2-0 early.
- The advantage bumped up to 3-0 on each side minutes later.
In their second duo showing of the day, Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten played fast en route to a sweep in second doubles.
One court over, Anna Brylin/Jingyi Li only dropped one game, cruising to a 6-1 decision that put the Deacs in front, 1-0.
- Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate went unfinished on court three, leading 5-0 at the time.
Li leaped out with a 3-0, first-set boost as soon as singles play unfolded.
- The freshman, Brylin, Wooten all tacked 4-1 leads through the ensuing pair of games.
Holding her control, Li was eventually the first player to collect a first-set win (6-1).
Wooten and Brylin were strong in first and second singles, respectively, chipping in 6-1 victories of their own in the opening period.
Ahmad, Carton, and Pate all chipped in to have Wake Forest's entire singles lineup capture first-set victories.
Through the first wave of games in set two, the Deacs only let up four total as a unit.
Li was first to win a solo match.
- Brylin and Wooten followed, as the former clinched the match, 4-0, before remaining courts played out.
Carton did not let up a game in her second frame, earning a straight-sets victory, and her classmate Pate added into the scoring column in fourth singles.
Being the final active Deac, Ahmad finished out the day with a sixth singles win to secure the sweep for Wake Forest.
- Each Deacon won her match in straight sets.
Wake Forest routed Campbell, 7-0.

Doubles Results:

Anna Brylin/Jingyi Li (WF) def. Anna-Marie Kopecka/Abbie Tyler (CAMP) 6-1
Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten (WF) def. Tamsin Hart/Marina Ossa (CAMP) 6-0
Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate (WF) vs. Mialy Ranaivo/Eeva Ristola (CAMP) 5-0, unfinished.

Order of Finish: 2, 1

Singles Results:

No. 27 Casie Wooten (WF) def. Tamsin Hart (CAMP) 6-1, 6-1
Anna Brylin (WF) def. Anna-Marie Kopecka (CAMP) 6-1, 6-2
Nevena Carton (WF) def. Mariana Ossa (CAMP) 6-2, 6-0
Whitley Pate (WF) def. Mialy Ranaivo (CAMP) 6-3, 6-1
Jingyi Li (WF) def. Abbie Tyler (CAMP) 6-1, 6-1
Mia Ahmad (WF) def. Veronika Prospalova (CAMP) 6-1, 6-2

Order of Finish: 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6

From the Head Honcho

"This morning was another tough matchup against Old Dominion," noted head coach Jeff Wyshner. "We saw some good things in that one, but the slow start in doubles set us back. I think we are finding our way and learning at this point. We bounced back well and came out quickly against Campbell. At this early point in the year, I feel pretty good but hate leaving some big matches on the table that were ours for the taking. We are going to need to be better in those third-set moments. We'll see next weekend if we can do that."

Up Next

Wake Forest continues its home stretch into next weekend, bringing in Furman and UNC Greensboro on Saturday (Jan. 11).

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Mia Ahmad

Anna Brylin

Nevena Carton

Brooke Killingsworth

Jingyi Li

Maddie Lynch

Whitley Pate

Casie Wooten