Demon Deacons’ Historic Season Ends in Round of 32

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 22nd-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team battled with ninth-ranked Tennessee, before ultimately falling 4-0 Sunday evening at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. to conclude the 2023 campaign.

This season, the Demon Deacons (26-12, 7-5 ACC) reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th-consecutive season, while reaching the second round for the ninth-straight year.

Wake Forest downed No. 36 Memphis in the opening round of the annual tournament, before dropping Sunday's 4-0 decision to No. 9 Tennessee, despite a resilient effort across the board.

The Demon Deacons' 26 wins this season marked the seventh time in the last eight years that Wake Forest has tallied 25+ wins, with the lone exception being the COVID-impacted 2020 season.

As a team, the Deacs were ranked as high as No. 9 nationally this season and recorded 12 ranked wins, including three wins over opponents ranked in the top 25.

Wake Forest was unable to overcome Tennessee's excellent start in doubles Sunday, dropping the point for the first time in the last seven matches. The Vols' momentum from doubles carried over into singles play as they held on to take the match, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals.

How It Happened

Doubles play started tightly-contested as the Deacs led on court one (2-1), while being tied on court two (2-2) and trailing on court three (1-2).
Tennessee took the early lead in doubles as Angel Diaz/Martim Prata defeated Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona, 6-2.
The Vols then clinched the doubles point behind a 6-4 victory by No. 4 Pat Harper/Johannus Monday over No. 27 Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson.
- Sunday snapped Wake Forest's six-match streak of securing the doubles point.
The Demon Deacons faced a 1-0 deficit heading into singles play.
Tennessee extended its lead to 2-0 as Blaise Bicknell downed Matthew Thomson 6-3, 6-0 in third singles.
The Volunteers then took a 3-0 advantage when No. 5 Johannus Monday defeated No. 4 Melios Efstathiou 6-1, 6-1.
- Of note, Efstathiou defeated Monday earlier this season when the two sides faced off in January.
Despite trailing 3-0, Wake Forest continued to battle, forcing three deciding sets on the remaining courts.
Tennessee clinched the match victory as No. 31 Emile Hudd knocked off Filippo Moroni 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
At the time of the clinch, fourth, fifth and sixth singles were still in play.
- 4) No. 98 Jurabek Karimov trailed No. 117 Shunsuke Mitsui 6-7 (2-7), 3-4.
- 5) Luciano Tacchi led Angel Diaz 2-6, 6-0, 5-4.
- 6) Juan Lopez de Azcona trailed Tomas Rodriguez 4-6, 6-2, 0-1.
No. 22 Wake Forest fell to No. 9 Tennessee, 4-0, to conclude the 2023 campaign.

Singles Results
1. #5 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #4 Melios Efstathiou (WFU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #31 Emile Hudd (UT) def. Filippo Moroni (WFU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
3. Blaise Bicknell (UT) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-3, 6-0
4. #117 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) vs. #98 Jurabek Karimov (WFU) 7-6 (7-2), 4-3, unfinished
5. Angel Diaz (UT) vs. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 6-2, 0-6, 4-5, unfinished
6. Tomas Rodriguez (UT) vs. Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0, unfinished

Doubles Results
1. #4 Pat Harper/Johannus Monday (UT) def. #27 Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-4 2. #59 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #38 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi (WFU) 5-3 3. Angel Diaz/Martim Prata (UT) def. Melios Efstathiou/Juan Lopez de Azcona (WFU) 6-2

From Coach Bresky
"Congrats to Tennessee. They were the better team today. We'll learn a lot from this loss. It's time to get to work this summer." - Head coach Tony Bresky

2023 Season Highlights

The Demon Deacons finished the 2023 campaign 26-12, including a 7-5 mark in ACC play.
- The Deacs' 26 wins this season marked the seventh time in the last eight years that Wake Forest has tallied 25+ wins.
  - The lone exception was the COVID-impacted 2020 season.
Wake Forest opened the season 10-0, including wins over then-No. 6 Tennessee and then-No. 23 Auburn.
Head coach Tony Bresky became the winningest coach in program history this year, passing the legendary Jim Leighton in the Demon Deacons' 4-3 win over Tennessee on January 22.
The Deacs punched their ticket to the 2023 ITA National Team Indoor Championships after winning the Wake Forest Regional during ITA Kickoff Weekend.
- Of note, the Deacs notched victories over Auburn and Middle Tennessee during ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Three players (Melios Efstathiou, Filippo Moroni and Luciano Tacchi) recorded 20+ dual singles wins this season.
Graduate student Jurabek Karimov (10-9) and senior Juan Lopez de Azcona (19-7) both recorded double-digit dual singles wins this season.
Despite starting the regular-season unranked, Efstathiou rose to No. 2 in the ITA singles rankings.
- Efstathiou was crowned the 2023 ACC Player of the Year after accumulating a 18-4 record in dual singles matches during the regular season.
  - Efstathiou became only the second player in program history to be tabbed ACC Player of the Year, joining Noah Rubin who won the award in 2015.
  - In addition to being crowned ACC Player of the Year, 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, Wake Forest reached the semifinals of the annual tournament for the seventh time in the past eight seasons after knocking off Virginia Tech and NC State.
After earning an at-large bid, the Demon Deacons reached the NCAA Tournament for the 10th-consecutive season.
- Additionally, the Deacs reached the second round for the ninth-straight year after defeating Memphis.
Overall, Wake Forest recorded 12 ranked wins, including three victories over teams ranked in the top 25 this season.

Up Next
Despite team action coming to an end Sunday, No. 4-ranked and ACC Player of the Year, senior Melios Efstathiou will represent Wake Forest at the 2023 NCAA Singles Championships.

Individual competition is slated to take place from May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, following the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 17-20. 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.

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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