No. 18 Wake Forest Drops Close Decision to No. 22 NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. – Despite a resilient effort, the 18th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 22 NC State Wednesday evening at the JW Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C.

Notwithstanding Wednesday's result, the Demon Deacons (22-10, 6-5 ACC) still own a 7-1 ledger against the Wolfpack, dating back to 2017. Additionally, including Wednesday's contest, Wake Forest has outscored NC State 36-14 over the last eight meetings between the two sides.

With another victory in first singles, No. 7 Melios Efstathiou improved to 18-4 in dual singles action this season, including a 3-1 mark against his last four ranked opponents and a 15-4 overall record in Wake Forest's number one spot.

After facing an early deficit Wednesday, NC State (14-8, 8-3 ACC) took the doubles point behind victories on courts one and two, taking a 1-0 lead into singles action. The Deacs battled back to even the score on two occasions with wins in first and fourth singles but were unable to overcome NC State's home-court advantage, ultimately falling 4-2.

The Demon Deacons will look to bounce back Sunday when they travel to face Boston College at 10 a.m.

How It Happened

Wake Forest got off to a solid start early, leading on two courts through three games.
- Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni and Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona led 2-1 in first doubles and third doubles, respectively.
  - No. 73 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi faced a 2-1 deficit in second doubles.
The Demon Deacons began to seize control of doubles play as the Deacs took a 5-4 lead in first doubles and a 5-3 lead in third doubles.
Efstathiou/Lopez de Azcona became the first pairing to notch a victory as they defeated Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek, 6-3.
NC State evened the doubles ledger as No. 18 Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli took down Karimov/Tacchi 6-3.
After facing a 5-4 deficit, No. 21 Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Joseph Wayand of NC State battled back to knock off Thomson/Moroni (7-5), securing the doubles point for the Wolfpack.
Wake Forest trailed 1-0 heading into singles action.
The Demon Deacons got off to a solid start in singles play as the Deacs led on three courts, while being tied on two other courts in the early going.
- NC State eventually took the opening set on three courts.
Tacchi became the first player to earn a singles victory with a 6-2, 6-2 decision in fifth singles to tie the match at one apiece.
The Wolfpack regained the lead as Catry defeated Thomson 6-0, 6-4 in third singles.
No. 7 Efstathiou tied the contest (2-2) en route to his 18th singles win of the season, downing No. 54 Rafa Izquierdo Luque in straight sets.
- Efstathiou is a stellar 18-4 this season in dual singles action, including a 15-4 mark in the number one spot.
NC State took a 3-2 lead as Wayand defeated Lopez de Azcona in sixth singles. The Wolfpack then clinched the match with a 7-6, 6-4 win in fourth singles.
- At the time of the clinch, Moroni was tied (7-5, 1-6, 2-2) in second singles.
No. 18 Wake Forest fell to No. 22 NC State, 4-2.

Singles Results
1. #7 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #54 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NCST) 6-4, 6-1
2. Filippo Moroni (WFU) vs. #73 Luca Staeheli (NCST) 7-5, 1-6, 2-2, unfinished
3. Robin Catry (NCST) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-0, 6-4
4. Braden Shick (NCST) def. Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-6, 6-4
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Fons Van Sambeek (NCST) 6-2, 6-2
6. Joseph Wayand (NCST) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles Results
1. #21 Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Joseph Wayand (NCST) def. Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-5
2. #18 Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (NCST) def. #73 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-3
3. Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) def. Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (NCST) 6-3

From Coach Bresky
"It was a tough evening. We had a tough stretch but had chances in doubles, especially when we were up a break. Things just didn't go our way. We played well in spots in singles but we didn't get it done. We'll look to bounce back Sunday at Boston College." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
The Deacs will return to action Sunday when they travel to face Boston College in the regular-season finale. First serve is slated for 10 a.m.

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No. 18 Wake Forest Drops Close Decision to No. 22 NC State

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Melios Efstathiou

Jurabek Karimov

Juan Lopez de Azcona

Filippo Moroni

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson

Wake Forest Athletics