No. 22 Wake Forest Advances to Round of 32; Downs No. 36 Memphis, 4-1

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Making the program's 10th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the 22nd-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team earned a decisive 4-1 victory over No. 36 Memphis Saturday at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

With the victory, Wake Forest (26-11, 7-5 ACC) has 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).

How It Happened

Wake Forest got off to a strong start in doubles, taking an early lead in the first and third slots.
- No. 27 Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson and Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona both led 4-1 through five games.
Efstathiou/Lopez de Azcona notched a 6-2 victory in third doubles, giving Wake Forest the advantage in doubles play.
No. 27 Moroni/Thomson then knocked off David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (6-2), securing the doubles point for the Demon Deacons.
- Saturday marked the sixth-consecutive match Wake Forest has notched the doubles points.
  - Of note, Jurabek Karimov and Luciano Tacchi were tied 4-4 on court two when the Deacs clinched the point.
The Demon Deacons took a 1-0 lead into singles play.
No. 4 Melios Efstathiou became the first Deac to win a set as he took a 6-2 lead in first singles.
- Of note, the Demon Deacons won the opening set on four courts to open singles play.
No. 4 Efstathiou gave Wake Forest a 2-0 lead as he downed No. 68 Pablo Alemany 6-2, 6-3.
After Memphis narrowed its deficit to one, the Demon Deacons quickly extended the lead to 3-1 as Luciano Tacchi battled back to take a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Harry Rock.
- Tacchi dropped the opening set, before winning 12 of the following 15 games.
The Deacs then clinched the match victory as Filippo Moroni downed Oscar Cutting in second singles.
- At the time of the clinch, the Demon Deacons led on both remaining courts.
  - No. 98 Jurabek Karimov led 6-2, 6-6 (2-2) against Jeremy Taylor.
  - Juan Lopez de Azcona led 6-4, 5-4 against Pau Fanlo.
Wake Forest defeated Memphis, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA Round of 32 for the ninth-consecutive season.

Singles Results
1. #4 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. #68 Pablo Alemany (MEM) 6-2, 6-3
2. Filippo Moroni (WFU) def. Oscar Cutting (MEM) 6-4, 7-5
3. Conor Gannon (MEM) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-3, 6-3
4. #98 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) vs. Jeremy Taylor (MEM) 6-2, 6-6 (2-2), unfinished
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Harry Rock (MEM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) vs. Pau Fanlo (MEM) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished

Doubles Results
1. #27 Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WFU) def. David Stevenson/Jeremy Taylor (MEM) 6-2
2. #38 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) vs. Conor Gannon/Harry Rock (MEM) 4-4, unfinished
3. Juan Lopez de Azcona/Melios Efstathiou (WFU) def. Pablo Alemany/Oscar Cutting (MEM) 6-2

From Coach Bresky
"We played well in doubles to start. We've worked really hard on our pairings and have now taken the doubles point in six-straight matches. We finally feel like we have the right combos, which takes a little bit of time during the season to get to. Melios adding a point against a great player in first singles was huge for us. Now, we're going to get our guys rested and prepared to battle tomorrow." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
Host Tennessee and Belmont will square off today at 1 p.m. to determine the Demon Deacons' next opponent. Sunday's match between Wake Forest and Tennessee/Belmont will take place at 1 p.m.

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No. 22 Wake Forest Advances to Round of 32; Downs No. 36 Memphis, 4-1

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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