Wake Forest University
Notre Dame
Carton Clinches for Wake Forest in Comeback Victory over Notre Dame in Second Round of ACC Championships
4/20/2023 2:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Deacs advanced past their opening tournament showing for the sixth straight year.
CARY, N.C. – A strong showing of perseverance was displayed by Wake Forest women's tennis (17-12) during its first day within the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Women's Tennis Championships, as the No. 9-seeded Demon Deacons bounced back from a loss in doubles to knock off No. 8-seeded Notre Dame through singles wins, 4-2.
It was the first time this spring that Wake Forest finished victorious in a match after dropping the doubles point.
Freshman Nevena Carton played as a clutch factor for her Deacs, forcing a third set in singles before ultimately clinching the match point. Not long before the deciding play, her classmate, Whitley Pate, moved Wake Forest ahead in the contest with a sixth-singles victory. Casie Wooten and Brooke Killingsworth added solo wins of their own during the afternoon.
Wake Forest has now won its first matchup of ACC tournament in each of its last six appearances, dating back to 2015-16. The tournament did not take place in 2020 due to the suspension of the postseason.
The Deacons are now 2-0, all-time, over Notre Dame in the ACC tournament. Additionally, the team has won five of its last seven meetings against the Fighting Irish.
Wake Forest enters the quarterfinal round of the tournament tomorrow morning (April 21), facing No. 1-seeded North Carolina at 10 a.m. ET.
How it Happened
- In the early stages of doubles, No. 18 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth and Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten split the first two games apiece.
- The latter soon tied their match at 2 all.
- Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate won their fourth game in third singles.
- Brylin/Killingsworth trimmed the deficit on court one to 4-3 while Ahmad/Wooten evened second doubles at 3-3.
- Notre Dame won third doubles in a 6-1 fashion.
- Ahmad/Wooten continued to keep their match close (4-4).
- Nevertheless, the Fighting Irish finished victorious in first doubles to snag the opening point.
- Pate kicked off sixth singles quickly, winning her first four games.
- Wake Forest steadied a good start on the majority of the courts, as Killingsworth was the first individual to win a set (6-3.)
- Brylin fought hard to tie court two at 5-5.
- It was not long before Wooten became the second Deac to win a set (6-4).
- Pate entered a first-set tiebreaker, eventually escaping in a 7-6 (4) mark.
- Killingsworth stayed hot in her second set, winning the frame's first four games.
- Next door, Wooten evened the match at 1-1 with a straight-sets victory, only dropping two games in the second.
- Brylin and Carton maintained similar efforts, forcing third sets on courts two and four.
- The Fighting Irish took its lead back within the match, 2-1, on a fifth-singles win.
- Killingsworth made the contest even once again, 2-2, after battling through a second-set tiebreaker.
- Pate gave Wake Forest the lead minutes later, showing out in straight sets.
- Playing on the two final active courts, both Brylin and Carton saw their match tied up in the third, at 3-3 and 4-4, respectively.
- Carton stayed poised to grab two final games, giving the Deacs the clinch as her teammates swarmed her with enthusiasm.
- Wake Forest defeated Notre Dame, 4-2.
Doubles Results:
- No. 47 Carrie Beckman/Julia Andreach (ND) def. No. 18 Anna Brylin/Brooke Killingsworth (WF) 3-6
- Mia Ahmad/Casie Wooten (WF) vs. Page Freeman/Bojana Pozder (ND) 4-4, unfinished.
- Yashna Yellayi/Rylie Hanford (ND) def. Nevena Carton/Whitley Pate (WF) 1-6
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles Results:
- No. 56 Casie Wooten (WF) def. No. 55 Page Freeman (ND) 6-4, 6-2
- No. 64 Anna Brylin (WF) vs. Julia Andreach (ND) 5-7, 6-3, 4-4, unfinished.
- Brooke Killingsworth (WF) def. Yashna Yellayi (ND) 6-3, 7-6 (6))
- Nevena Carton (WF) def. Carrie Beckman (ND) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Nibi Ghosh (ND) def. Maddie Lynch (WF) 4-6, 3-6
- Whitley Pate (WF) def. Akari Matsuno (ND) 7-6 (4), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 3, 6, 4
From the Head Honcho
"Great win today!" said head coach Jeff Wyshner. "Notre Dame seems to have our number in doubles, but we rebounded and played tough at every singles spot. All of the first sets were dogfights. We ended up getting three of them, and it was an amazing job by Casie, Brooke and Whitley to get those wins in straight sets. Then, Nevena and Anna fought their way to third sets. Big-time credit to Jersey (Nevena) coming through and clinching as a freshman! Every postseason win is hard to come by, so we're excited that we got this one and move on to tomorrow."
Up Next
Quarterfinal action is on deck for Wake Forest, as the Deacs are set to face No. 1-seeded North Carolina at 10 a.m. ET. on Friday morning (April 21).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,5,6,3,4
Players Mentioned
