No. 15 Wake Forest Falls to No. 6 Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 15th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the 2024 campaign, dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 6 Tennessee Sunday evening inside the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville, Tenn.

The loss marked just the Demon Deacons' (2-1, 0-0 ACC) 11th road loss over the past four seasons.

Individually, graduate student Matthew Thomson and senior Luciano Tacchi led the Deacs Sunday, earning victories in third singles and fifth singles, respectively. Thomson and Tacchi are both unbeaten in singles play to open the 2024 season.

Of note, the returning veteran duo combined to go 38-22 in singles action a season ago.

Sunday, Wake Forest faced an early deficit in doubles play, before dropping the point behind losses in second and third doubles, respectively. The Volunteers then carried their momentum into singles play, as they defeated the Demon Deacons on 4-of-6 courts en route to the 5-2 victory.

How It Happened

Wake Forest faced an early deficit in doubles, trailing 4-2 on courts two and three, while leading on court one (3-2).
Tennessee earned the first victory in doubles as No. 34 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka defeated Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow 6-3 in second doubles.
Minutes later, the Volunteers clinched the doubles point behind a 6-4 win in third doubles.
- Younes Lalami/Filip Apltauer knocked off Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson, 6-4.
Wake Forest entered singles play, facing a 1-0 deficit.
Singles play started tightly contested as the Demon Deacons led on two courts, while being tied on three others.
Matthew Thomson became the first Deac to take a set, earning a 6-3 decision in set one of third singles.
Tennessee took a 2-0 lead as No. 20 Johannus Monday defeated No. 7 Filippo Moroni (6-3, 6-4) in the top slot.
The Volunteers then clinched the match behind wins in sixth singles and second singles, respectively.
- No. 33 Shunsuke Mitsui defeated No. 54 DK Suresh Ekambaram, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
- Angel Diaz defeated Luca Pow, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.
The two sides decided to play out the remainder of the contest.
Tacchi got the Demon Deacons on the board, earning an 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in fifth singles.
Filip Pieczonka defeated Holden Koons (7-5, 6-3) shortly after, giving the Volunteers a 5-1 advantage.
Thomson then closed the match, notching a 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 win in third singles.
No. 15 Wake Forest fell to No. 6 Tennessee, 5-2.

Singles Results
1. #20 Johannus Monday (TENN) def. #7 Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #33 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. #54 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
3. Matthew Thomson (WFU) def. Younes Lalami (TENN) 6-3, 5-7, 10-7
4. Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Holden Koons (WFU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Chris Li (TENN) 0-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Angel Diaz (TENN) def. Luca Pow (WFU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2

Doubles Results
1. #26 Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz (TENN) vs. #18 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WFU) 4-4, unfinished
2. #34 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (WFU) 6-3
3. Younes Lalami/Filip Apltauer (TENN) def. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WFU) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,6,2,5,4,3)

From Coach Bresky
"Credit to Tennessee. They outplayed us in the bigger and tighter moments. We did good in some areas, and we will look to improve in others. Tennessee is a great environment, so it was good to get experience on the road ahead of next weekend. We will now turn our attention to ITA Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now travel to Chapel Hill for ITA Kickoff Weekend (Jan. 27-28). The North Carolina Regional will feature No. 23 Florida, Illinois and host No. 13 North Carolina.

Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Holden Koons

Filippo Moroni

Luca Pow

DK Suresh Ekambaram

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson

Wake Forest Athletics