Sunday, May 7
Knoxville, Tenn.
1:00 P.M.
Wake Forest University
vs
#9 Tennessee
Deacs Primed for Second Round Showdown With No. 9 Tennessee
5/6/2023 9:40:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Demon Deacons will look to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second-straight season.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Winners of four of their last five, the 22nd-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team will return to action Sunday when the Demon Deacons take on No. 9 Tennessee at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sunday's NCAA Round of 32 matchup between the Demon Deacons and the Volunteers is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Wake Forest enters Sunday's match with a 26-11 overall record, including a 7-5 mark in ACC play. Of note, the Demon Deacons have accumulated a 12-10 record against ranked opponents this season.
How to Follow
The live stream for Sunday's match will be provided via Playsight, while the live stats can be found here.
2023 NCAA DI Men's Tennis Tournament
First and second round competition takes place May 5-6 or 6-7 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 12 or 13. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. The super-regional winners advance to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 18-20.
This year's event will be conducted jointly with the NCAA Divisions II and III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships and hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
Demon Deacons in the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Championships (1)
2018
NCAA Tournament Appearances (22)
1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
2023 ACC Player of the Year
Following a historic 2023 campaign, senior Melios Efstathiou was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, as announced by the league office Monday.
The nod made Efstathiou the second player in program history to garner accolades, joining Noah Rubin who earned the award in 2015.
Monday's recognition came on the heels of a stellar season, in which Efstathiou accumulated a 21-4 mark in dual singles action, including a 5-0 ledger over his final five matches. Of note, Efstathiou is currently ranked the No. 2 singles player nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
In addition to being crowned ACC Player of the Year Monday, Efstathiou was tabbed to the All-ACC First Team, marking Wake Forest's 32nd honoree during the head coach Tony Bresky era.
During the 2023 ACC Championships, Efstathiou defeated then-No. 13 Garrett Johns, then-No. 49 Ryan Fishback and then-No. 58 Rafael Iziquierdo Luque in a three-day span, leading Wake Forest to its seventh ACC semifinal appearance in the last eight years.
Efstathiou by the Numbers (2023)
Ranked Deacs
Singles
No. 4 - Melios Efstathiou
No. 98 - Jurabek Karimov
Doubles
No. 27 - Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni
No. 38 - Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi
No. 41 - Filippo Moroni/Juan Lopez de Azcona
Last Time Out (Against Memphis)
Wake Forest earned a decisive 4-1 victory over No. 36 Memphis Saturday at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
With the victory, the Demon Deacons (26-11, 7-5 ACC) have now advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth-consecutive season. Additionally, Saturday marked the Demon Deacons' 12th ranked win of the 2023 campaign.
The Deacs quickly secured the doubles point against the Tigers (13-8, 5-1 AAC) behind impressive victories in first and third doubles as No. 27 Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni defeated David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (6-2), while Juan Lopez de Azcona/Melios Efstathiou knocked off Pablo Alemany/Oscar Cutting (6-2). Of note, Saturday marked the sixth-straight match Wake Forest has notched the doubles point.
The Demon Deacons' momentum from doubles play carried over into singles as the Deacs won the opening set on four courts. Reigning ACC Player of the Year and No. 4-ranked Melios Efstathiou quickly gave Wake Forest a 2-0 lead as he notched his sixth-consecutive dual singles victory with a 6-2, 6-3 win in first singles.
After Memphis took third singles, the Demon Deacons notched consecutive victories to clinch the match as Luciano Tacchi rallied to down Harry Rock (4-6, 6-1, 6-2) and Filippo Moroni defeated Oscar Cutting (6-4, 7-5).
Season Series - Wake Forest 1, Tennessee 0
On January 22, in front of a raucous crowd inside the Indoor Tennis Center, Wake Forest downed then-No. 6 Tennessee, 4-3.
182 spectators packed into the ITC to witness the highly-anticipated top-15 showdown between the Demon Deacons and the sixth-ranked Volunteers. The contest marked Wake Forest's most attended match since last season's 4-2 victory over No. 19 Duke.
Of note, the Demon Deacons earned their 14th top-25 win in the past three seasons with the victory over the Volunteers.
After trailing 3-2 with just two courts still in play, junior Luciano Tacchi and graduate student Jurabek Karimov earned theatric singles victories on Courts 3 and 4 to capture the Deacs' fifth win of the season.
The Matchup - Tennessee
Ranked Volunteers
Singles
No. 5 - Johannus Monday
No. 31 - Emile Hudd
No. 117 - Shunsuke Mitsui
Doubles
No. 4 - Pat Harper/Johannus Monday
No. 59 - Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui
Sunday will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the Demon Deacons and the Volunteers as Wake Forest owns a 6-13 record against Tennessee. Of note, the Demon Deacons have won five of their last six meetings with the Volunteers.
Looking Ahead
The winner of Sunday's match will move on to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Sunday's NCAA Round of 32 matchup between the Demon Deacons and the Volunteers is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Wake Forest enters Sunday's match with a 26-11 overall record, including a 7-5 mark in ACC play. Of note, the Demon Deacons have accumulated a 12-10 record against ranked opponents this season.
How to Follow
The live stream for Sunday's match will be provided via Playsight, while the live stats can be found here.
2023 NCAA DI Men's Tennis Tournament
First and second round competition takes place May 5-6 or 6-7 and features four teams playing in a single-elimination format. The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 12 or 13. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. The super-regional winners advance to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 18-20.
This year's event will be conducted jointly with the NCAA Divisions II and III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships and hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.
Demon Deacons in the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Championships (1)
2018
NCAA Tournament Appearances (22)
1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
2023 ACC Player of the Year
Following a historic 2023 campaign, senior Melios Efstathiou was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, as announced by the league office Monday.
The nod made Efstathiou the second player in program history to garner accolades, joining Noah Rubin who earned the award in 2015.
Monday's recognition came on the heels of a stellar season, in which Efstathiou accumulated a 21-4 mark in dual singles action, including a 5-0 ledger over his final five matches. Of note, Efstathiou is currently ranked the No. 2 singles player nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
In addition to being crowned ACC Player of the Year Monday, Efstathiou was tabbed to the All-ACC First Team, marking Wake Forest's 32nd honoree during the head coach Tony Bresky era.
During the 2023 ACC Championships, Efstathiou defeated then-No. 13 Garrett Johns, then-No. 49 Ryan Fishback and then-No. 58 Rafael Iziquierdo Luque in a three-day span, leading Wake Forest to its seventh ACC semifinal appearance in the last eight years.
Efstathiou by the Numbers (2023)
| Overall | Conference | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Streak | |
| Efstathiou | 22-4 | 7-2 | 19-4 | 3-0 | - | - | - | - | W6 |
Ranked Deacs
Singles
No. 4 - Melios Efstathiou
No. 98 - Jurabek Karimov
Doubles
No. 27 - Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni
No. 38 - Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi
No. 41 - Filippo Moroni/Juan Lopez de Azcona
Last Time Out (Against Memphis)
Wake Forest earned a decisive 4-1 victory over No. 36 Memphis Saturday at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
With the victory, the Demon Deacons (26-11, 7-5 ACC) have now advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the ninth-consecutive season. Additionally, Saturday marked the Demon Deacons' 12th ranked win of the 2023 campaign.
The Deacs quickly secured the doubles point against the Tigers (13-8, 5-1 AAC) behind impressive victories in first and third doubles as No. 27 Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni defeated David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (6-2), while Juan Lopez de Azcona/Melios Efstathiou knocked off Pablo Alemany/Oscar Cutting (6-2). Of note, Saturday marked the sixth-straight match Wake Forest has notched the doubles point.
The Demon Deacons' momentum from doubles play carried over into singles as the Deacs won the opening set on four courts. Reigning ACC Player of the Year and No. 4-ranked Melios Efstathiou quickly gave Wake Forest a 2-0 lead as he notched his sixth-consecutive dual singles victory with a 6-2, 6-3 win in first singles.
After Memphis took third singles, the Demon Deacons notched consecutive victories to clinch the match as Luciano Tacchi rallied to down Harry Rock (4-6, 6-1, 6-2) and Filippo Moroni defeated Oscar Cutting (6-4, 7-5).
Season Series - Wake Forest 1, Tennessee 0
On January 22, in front of a raucous crowd inside the Indoor Tennis Center, Wake Forest downed then-No. 6 Tennessee, 4-3.
182 spectators packed into the ITC to witness the highly-anticipated top-15 showdown between the Demon Deacons and the sixth-ranked Volunteers. The contest marked Wake Forest's most attended match since last season's 4-2 victory over No. 19 Duke.
Of note, the Demon Deacons earned their 14th top-25 win in the past three seasons with the victory over the Volunteers.
After trailing 3-2 with just two courts still in play, junior Luciano Tacchi and graduate student Jurabek Karimov earned theatric singles victories on Courts 3 and 4 to capture the Deacs' fifth win of the season.
The Matchup - Tennessee
- Date: May 7, 2023
- Time: 1 p.m.
- Site: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.)
- Series Record: 6-13
- Last Time: W, 4-3 (2023)
Ranked Volunteers
Singles
No. 5 - Johannus Monday
No. 31 - Emile Hudd
No. 117 - Shunsuke Mitsui
Doubles
No. 4 - Pat Harper/Johannus Monday
No. 59 - Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui
Sunday will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the Demon Deacons and the Volunteers as Wake Forest owns a 6-13 record against Tennessee. Of note, the Demon Deacons have won five of their last six meetings with the Volunteers.
Looking Ahead
The winner of Sunday's match will move on to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
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