Tony Bresky Sets Wake Forest All-Time Wins Record as Deacs Continue March Ahead
3/6/2023 8:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Les Johns
The 2018 National Championship-winning coach recently became Wake Forest men’s tennis’ all-time wins leader, surpassing Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer Jim Leighton.
As Wake Forest men's tennis graduate student Jurabek Karimov came roaring back in the second set to clinch a come-from-behind victory for the Demon Deacons over No. 6 Tennessee in late January, the celebration was justified, yet brief.
The Deacs still had other business to attend to, with the second half of a doubleheader starting just a couple of brief hours later.
Shortly after, head coach Tony Bresky was notified that the victory over the Vols catapulted him into the winningest coach in Wake Forest Men's Tennis history.
"At the time, it was just exciting that we came back and were able to play a great match," Bresky said. "Then we had another match later in the day. Playing two in one day makes for a crazy long day, so you get home exhausted."
Several weeks later, though, still in the middle of a season full of promise, Bresky hasn't really reflected much on his achievement.
"In retrospect, first of all you feel old, because it means I've been here awhile," he said. "Then you're thankful for all the players, coaches and staff who I've had a chance to work with. I'm proud of the program we've been able to build in the right way with great kids and a great support staff. I'm just thankful to all the people who have helped along the way."
The Deacs fell behind 1-0 to the Vols after losing the doubles point, and then faced a 3-2 deficit before closing out victories by Luciano Tacchi and Karimov at No. 4 and No. 3 singles respectively.
"We lost a tough doubles point," Bresky said. "Dubs is a big point, but it's just one point and some teams put too much emphasis on it. You have to be able to win matches when you lose that point. Our guys were prepared and played some really good singles. We had some great performances and played well to come out on top."
The Deacs started the season on quite a roll, winning their first 10 matches and earning a bid to the ITA Nationals in Chicago.
"I think the guys came back motivated, fit and ready to go," Bresky said. "We have some older guys who have been very much looking forward to their opportunity to play in the lineup. We have some guys who haven't had a chance to play much in the last couple of years because we've had a ton of depth. Those guys are doing a great job. We pulled out a tight one with Tennessee. That spurred us on to another great weekend and we've qualified to national Indoors, which is always one of our goals. We hope we can keep the momentum going."
A winning streak of 36-straight home matches was snapped in early February with a loss to No. 1 Ohio State.
"I think we have the best fans from a tennis perspective in the country," Bresky said. "We've had so much support and I think the guys thrive off that. It gives you a certain amount of energy when you're playing. It's helped us a ton. We've been extremely successful at home. It's a big advantage when we get those teams to come in here."
In addition to the ITA Nationals, the Deacs have faced nationally ranked teams like Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Auburn. Then, of course, they are going to test themselves in the best tennis conference in the country — the ACC.
"One of my goals is always to schedule as tough as we can," Bresky said. "We want to test ourselves against the best teams and see where we can improve. There's no better way to improve your tennis than to play the best teams in the country. I feel like we thrive off that. Obviously, it's challenging, but hopefully it helps us at the end of the year when it really matters."
Squaring off against the best competition is the best way to have the Deacs playing strong tennis at the end of the season.
"You learn if your doubles combos are working," Bresky said. "You find out how tough you are and how motivated the guys are. You see what you need to work on. Not that you ever want to lose, but when you lose you probably learn a lot more from that. They are great tests and opportunities for us to improve."
Wake Forest enjoyed its first 30-win season in Bresky's fifth year on the job, in 2016, and the Deacs have averaged 31 wins a year over the last five complete seasons — an unparalleled era of success.
"He's won a national championship and has us consistently in the hunt for ACC titles," Wake Forest director of athletics John Currie said. "He's an extraordinary, brilliant leader. Tony Bresky is highly competitive. Winning and winning in the right way is extremely important to him."
"We've had some great players," Bresky added. "They're the ones who play and compete. Our guys have done a great job and we've been able to carry that momentum over the last six-to-eight years. We've brought in great kids and they've bought into our culture in this program and the expectations. We're hopeful we can keep that going."
Looking back on the 2020 season that was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Deacs started off 12-3. Keeping things together as the players scattered across the globe was crucial for the stability of the program.
"It was tough for everybody, obviously," Bresky said. "It was a challenge to keep everything together. We probably have over 50 percent international players, so a lot of those kids went home and were in many different situations. Some were in total lockdown and others were more open.
"Coming back in the spring of 2021, we had a lot of guys who had taken time off, so that was a tough season. I was happy with how we were able to keep that together. We had match cancellation, and many of our players caught Covid."
Bresky believes the leadership and decision-making by Currie made a huge impact campus-wide.
"He's been outstanding," Bresky said. "I can't even imagine what he had to go through. To be able to keep our program, and all of our programs, afloat and going as well as we have — it's now a really positive time for Wake Forest Athletics. Many of our teams are thriving and doing some amazing things. His expectations are in line with what ours are, and that makes it fun to go to work everyday."
The Deacs have already proven they can compete with the best in the country this season, and have their sights set on some lofty goals during the second half of the campaign.
"We want to compete for a national indoor title, a national outdoor title and the ACC Championship," Bresky said. "The chips will fall where they may. It's a long year, and we have to continue to stay healthy and work to keep getting better. As a team those are the goals. If we continue to work in the right way, we have an opportunity to achieve some of those goals."
Players Mentioned
