Tuesday, November 19
Waco, Texas
Wake Forest University
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
DK Suresh Ekambaram’s Stellar Run Comes to an End in the NCAA Semifinals
11/23/2024 5:22:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Ekambaram and the doubles pair of Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow earned All-American status in Waco.
WACO, Texas – Highlighted by junior DK Suresh Ekambaram's incredible run to the semifinals, the Wake Forest men's tennis team wrapped up the fall tennis season at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships Saturday in Waco, Texas.
By making the round of 16, Suresh Ekambaram was officially tabbed as an All-American. It marked his first time earning the honors in singles and second time overall, after being named a doubles All-American back in the spring with Holden Koons.
He became the 13th Wake Forest player to accomplish the feat and just the second Demon Deacon to become an All-American in singles and doubles, joining Cory Parr (2006-2009).
Suresh Ekambaram opened the week with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 64-ranked Miguel Perez Pena of Georgia, before following that up on Wednesday with another straight-set win over Baylor's No. 61-ranked Devin Badenhorst (6-4, 6-2).
Despite his opponent serving for the match, Suresh battled back from the death and defeated eighth-seeded Aidan Kim of Ohio State (4-6, 7-6, 6-3) on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals. He became the seventh Demon Deacon to make the quarterfinals and first since Eduardo Nava in 2022.
The phenomenal run continued on Friday, where Suresh dominated against Corey Craig of Florida State and picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Suresh is just the fourth Demon Deacon to reach the semifinals and first since Petros Chrysochos and Borna Gojo both made a run to the finals in 2018.
Suresh's week came to an end on Saturday as he battled closely with #1 Ozan Baris of Michigan State, but inevitably fell, 5-7, 6(5)-7.
After earning automatic qualification to the championships by winning the Carolina Regionals, the doubles pair of freshman Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi carried the momentum into Texas. The duo earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the opening round over the No. 57-ranked pair of Arthus de la Bassetiere/Kabeer Kapasi from Rice.
Pow/Tacchi became All-Americans for the first time after a comeback victory over Indiana's No. 52-ranked Facundo Yunis/Jip van Assendelft in the round of 16. It marked the ninth time in program history a doubles pair earned All-American status.
The duo dropped a heartbreaking quarterfinals match to Alex Bulte/Youcef Rihane of Florida State (5-7, 6-4 [10-7]) on Friday.
Suresh Ekambaram also made his second-consecutive appearance in the doubles championships, this time with newcomer Ioannis Xilas. The pair took the first set against TCU's Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (6-4) and came close to winning the match in straight-sets, but inevitably fell in a third-set tiebreak.
Wake Forest Results
Wake Forest All-Americans
Wake Forest All-Time NCAA Finishes - QF or Better
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By making the round of 16, Suresh Ekambaram was officially tabbed as an All-American. It marked his first time earning the honors in singles and second time overall, after being named a doubles All-American back in the spring with Holden Koons.
He became the 13th Wake Forest player to accomplish the feat and just the second Demon Deacon to become an All-American in singles and doubles, joining Cory Parr (2006-2009).
Suresh Ekambaram opened the week with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 64-ranked Miguel Perez Pena of Georgia, before following that up on Wednesday with another straight-set win over Baylor's No. 61-ranked Devin Badenhorst (6-4, 6-2).
Despite his opponent serving for the match, Suresh battled back from the death and defeated eighth-seeded Aidan Kim of Ohio State (4-6, 7-6, 6-3) on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals. He became the seventh Demon Deacon to make the quarterfinals and first since Eduardo Nava in 2022.
The phenomenal run continued on Friday, where Suresh dominated against Corey Craig of Florida State and picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Suresh is just the fourth Demon Deacon to reach the semifinals and first since Petros Chrysochos and Borna Gojo both made a run to the finals in 2018.
Suresh's week came to an end on Saturday as he battled closely with #1 Ozan Baris of Michigan State, but inevitably fell, 5-7, 6(5)-7.
After earning automatic qualification to the championships by winning the Carolina Regionals, the doubles pair of freshman Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi carried the momentum into Texas. The duo earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the opening round over the No. 57-ranked pair of Arthus de la Bassetiere/Kabeer Kapasi from Rice.
Pow/Tacchi became All-Americans for the first time after a comeback victory over Indiana's No. 52-ranked Facundo Yunis/Jip van Assendelft in the round of 16. It marked the ninth time in program history a doubles pair earned All-American status.
The duo dropped a heartbreaking quarterfinals match to Alex Bulte/Youcef Rihane of Florida State (5-7, 6-4 [10-7]) on Friday.
Suresh Ekambaram also made his second-consecutive appearance in the doubles championships, this time with newcomer Ioannis Xilas. The pair took the first set against TCU's Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (6-4) and came close to winning the match in straight-sets, but inevitably fell in a third-set tiebreak.
Wake Forest Results
- Singles
- #26 DK Suresh Ekambaram
- R64: Win vs. #64 Miguel Perez Pena (Georgia) 6-4, 6-1
- R32: Win vs. #61 Devin Badenhorst (Baylor) 6-4, 6-2
- R16: Win vs. #71 Aidan Kim (Ohio State) 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
- QF: Win vs. Corey Craig (Florida State) 6-3, 6-2
- SF: Loss vs. #1 Ozan Baris (Michigan State) 5-7, 6(5)-7
- #26 DK Suresh Ekambaram
- Doubles
- #71 Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi
- R32: Win vs. #57 Arthus de la Bassetiere/Kabeer Kapasi (Rice) 6-2, 6-4
- R16: Win vs. #52 Facundo Yunis/Jip van Assendelft (Indiana) 6(4)-7, 7-5 [10-4]
- QF: Loss vs. Alex Bulte/Youcef Rihane (Florida State) 5-7, 6-4 [10-7]
- DK Suresh Ekambaram/Ioannis Xilas
- R32: Loss vs. Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (TCU) 6-4, 6(3)-7 [3-10]
- #71 Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi
Wake Forest All-Americans
- Singles (20)
- Gilles Ameline (1990)
- Todd Paul (2006, 2007)
- Cory Parr (2009)
- Romain Bogaerts (2015)
- Noah Rubin (2015)
- Skander Mansouri (2016, 2017)
- Petros Chrysochos (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
- Borna Gojo (2017, 2018, 2019)
- Bar Botzer (2019)
- Henri Squire (2021)
- Eduardo Nava (2022)
- Melios Efstathiou (2023)
- DK Suresh Ekambaram (2024-Fall)
- Doubles (9)
- Christian Dallwitz/Mark Greenan (1988)
- Todd Paul/Mariusz Adamski (2007)
- Cory Parr/Steven Forman (2008, 2009)
- Steven Forman/Iain Atkinson (2010)
- Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (2016, 2017)
- Siddhant Banthia/Jakob Schnaitter (2022)
- DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (2024-Spring)
- Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (2024-Fall)
- Singles (4)
- Noah Rubin - Runner-Up (2015)
- Petros Chrysochos - Champion (2018)
- Borna Gojo - Runner Up (2018)
- DK Suresh Ekambaram - SF (2024-Fall)
Wake Forest All-Time NCAA Finishes - QF or Better
- Doubles (9)
- Christian Dallwitz/Mark Greenan - SF (1988)
- Mariusz Adamski/Todd Paul - SF (2007)
- Steven Forman/Cory Parr - QF (2008)
- Steven Forman/Cory Parr - QF (2009)
- Iain Atkinson/Steven Forman - QF (2010)
- Skander Mansouri/Chrisian Seraphim - QF (2016)
- Skander Mansouri/Chrisian Seraphim - SF (2017)
- Siddhant Banthia/Jakob Schnaitter - QF (2022)
- Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi - QF (2024-Fall)
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Players Mentioned
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