Friday, March 31
Durham, NC
5:00 P.M.
Wake Forest University
3
at
4
#21 Duke
No. 16 Wake Forest Falls at No. 21 Duke
3/31/2023 10:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Demon Deacons will return to action Sunday to face No. 13 North Carolina.
DURHAM, N.C. – The 16th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 21 Duke Friday evening at the Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham, N.C.
The defeat snapped the Demon Deacons' (21-7, 5-2 ACC) six-match winning streak and marked the Deacs' first loss to Duke since 2016. Of note, despite Friday's outcome, Wake Forest is still 17-1 against in-state opponents since the beginning of last season.
The Blue Devils (14-5, 7-1 ACC) got off to a strong start in duo action, before going on to secure the pivotal doubles point with wins in second and third doubles. Wake Forest put up a resilient effort in singles, earning victories in the first, third and sixth slots but was unable to overcome losses in second, fourth and fifth singles.
Of note, senior No. 11 Melios Efstathiou notched a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory over No. 17 Garrett Johns, while senior Matthew Thomson earned an impressive 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win in third singles over Andrew Zhang.
Despite Friday's defeat, the Demon Deacons still sit fifth in the ACC and only two matches out of first with a key matchup against No. 13 North Carolina Sunday. Additionally, the Deacs control their fate with upcoming matches against No. 7 Virginia and No. 69 Virginia Tech remaining on the schedule.
How It Happened
1. #11 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #17 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
2. #98 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4
3. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. #103 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Jake Krug (DU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles Results
1. #71 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 3-4, unfinished
2. #54 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #37 Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3
3. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) 6-3
From Coach Bresky
"Congrats to Duke. There were a lot of very close matches today and a couple didn't go our way. We didn't have the ideal preparation with having to move indoors due to the rain, but Duke handled it really well. We're looking forward to bouncing back with another road test Sunday against North Carolina." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will return to action Sunday to face No. 13 North Carolina.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The defeat snapped the Demon Deacons' (21-7, 5-2 ACC) six-match winning streak and marked the Deacs' first loss to Duke since 2016. Of note, despite Friday's outcome, Wake Forest is still 17-1 against in-state opponents since the beginning of last season.
The Blue Devils (14-5, 7-1 ACC) got off to a strong start in duo action, before going on to secure the pivotal doubles point with wins in second and third doubles. Wake Forest put up a resilient effort in singles, earning victories in the first, third and sixth slots but was unable to overcome losses in second, fourth and fifth singles.
Of note, senior No. 11 Melios Efstathiou notched a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory over No. 17 Garrett Johns, while senior Matthew Thomson earned an impressive 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win in third singles over Andrew Zhang.
Despite Friday's defeat, the Demon Deacons still sit fifth in the ACC and only two matches out of first with a key matchup against No. 13 North Carolina Sunday. Additionally, the Deacs control their fate with upcoming matches against No. 7 Virginia and No. 69 Virginia Tech remaining on the schedule.
How It Happened
- Duke got off to a strong start in doubles play, leading 3-1 in second doubles and 3-2 in third doubles early.
- Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi held a 3-2 lead in first doubles.
- The Blue Devils struck first in doubles, notching a 6-3 victory on court three.
- Melios Efstathiou/Matthew Thomson fell to Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit, 6-3.
- After inclement weather forced a brief delay, doubles play moved inside.
- Duke then secured the doubles point as No. 54 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang defeated No. 37 Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni, 6-3.
- The Deacs trailed 1-0 heading into singles action.
- Head coach Tony Bresky once again placed Thomson at the third singles position.
- 1) No. 11 Efstathiou
- 2) Moroni
- 3) Thomson
- 4) No. 103 Karimov
- 5) Tacchi
- 6) Lopez de Azcona
- Of note, Friday marked the Deacs' first loss this season with Thomson at third singles.
- Duke got off to an excellent start in singles, winning the opening set on 4/6 courts.
- The Blue Devils extended their lead to 2-0 as Andrew Dale defeated Tacchi 6-4, 6-2 in fifth singles.
- Thomson became the first Deac to notch a singles victory as he stormed back from an opening set loss to knock off Zhang 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in third singles.
- Duke took a 3-1 lead as Connor Krug defeated No. 103 Karimov 7-5, 0-6, 6-4.
- Seconds later, the Blue Devils clinched on court two when No. 98 Pedro Rodenas edged Moroni 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4
- Despite Duke securing the victory, the two sides chose to play out the remainder of the contest.
- No. 11 Efstathiou was in a battle with No. 17 Garrett Johns, while Lopez de Azcona found himself in a deciding tiebreak with Jake Krug.
- Lopez de Azcona went on to notch a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1) victory over Krug.
- No. 11 Efstathiou rallied to knock off No. 17 Johns 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in first singles.
- Duke defeated Wake Forest, 4-3, marking the Deacs first loss to the Blue Devils since 2016.
1. #11 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #17 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
2. #98 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-4
3. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. #103 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Jake Krug (DU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles Results
1. #71 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 3-4, unfinished
2. #54 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #37 Juan Lopez de Azcona/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3
3. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Matthew Thomson/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) 6-3
From Coach Bresky
"Congrats to Duke. There were a lot of very close matches today and a couple didn't go our way. We didn't have the ideal preparation with having to move indoors due to the rain, but Duke handled it really well. We're looking forward to bouncing back with another road test Sunday against North Carolina." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will return to action Sunday to face No. 13 North Carolina.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
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