Sunday, February 18
New York, N.Y.
3:30 p.m.
Wake Forest University
2
vs
4
#2 TCU
Demon Deacons’ Magical ITA National Team Indoor Championship Run Ends in Semifinals
2/18/2024 7:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Wake Forest advanced to the final four for the first time since 2019.
NEW YORK – Facing its sixth-straight top-15 opponent, the sixth-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision to defending back-to-back indoor champions and second-seeded TCU in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Sunday at the Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center in New York City.
Despite the loss, the Demon Deacons (9-3, 0-0 ACC) are an impressive 5-3 against top-20 opponents to start the 2024 campaign.
After going down a break Sunday, the pairing of Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni stormed back to clinch the doubles point for Wake Forest with a 6-4 win on court two. Of note, No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons remained unbeaten in doubles action this season (8-0) with a 6-3 win over No. 8 Gorzny/Vives of TCU.
In singles, freshman Luca Pow continued his excellent rookie campaign, notching a straight-set win on court six to improve to 10-2 this season. Pow became the lone Demon Deacon to go unbeaten for the tournament as he currently owns a four-match winning streak.
Of note, Sunday marked the Deacs' first national semifinal appearance since 2019.
How It Happened
Singles Results
1. #62 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #23 Filippo Moroni (WF) 6-2, 6-3
2. #4 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #49 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) 7-5, 6-2
3. Matthew Thomson (WF) vs. #20 Pedro Vives (TCU) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished
4. #39 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Holden Koons (WF) 6-1, 6-2
6. Luca Pow (WF) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Results
1. #7 Holden Koons/DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) def. #8 Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives (TCU) 6-3
2. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Jack Pinnington/Jake Fearnley (TCU) 6-4
3. #20 Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,1,6,2,4)
From Coach Bresky
"It's obviously disappointing to lose. You've got to give credit to TCU. They have a very experienced team, and they've been here before. We were fortunate to get the doubles point, and I thought we would be able to build off that momentum. It's obviously tough for both teams with the change of venue. You get an hour to practice, then you've got to play. Credit to them. They adjusted better than we did. I think there were a couple of spots where we just didn't play our best, unfortunately. Then, there were a couple of spots where we played really well. Overall, the tournament was a good learning experience. These are the positions we'd like to be in - having a chance to advance. We'll learn from this. We're going to get back, get some rest and prepare for the outdoor season." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now take an eight day hiatus before returning to action against No. 24 Georgia on Feb. 26.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Despite the loss, the Demon Deacons (9-3, 0-0 ACC) are an impressive 5-3 against top-20 opponents to start the 2024 campaign.
After going down a break Sunday, the pairing of Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni stormed back to clinch the doubles point for Wake Forest with a 6-4 win on court two. Of note, No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons remained unbeaten in doubles action this season (8-0) with a 6-3 win over No. 8 Gorzny/Vives of TCU.
In singles, freshman Luca Pow continued his excellent rookie campaign, notching a straight-set win on court six to improve to 10-2 this season. Pow became the lone Demon Deacon to go unbeaten for the tournament as he currently owns a four-match winning streak.
Of note, Sunday marked the Deacs' first national semifinal appearance since 2019.
How It Happened
- TCU got off to a strong start in doubles play, going up a break on courts two and three.
- The Horned Frogs struck first with a 6-3 win on court three.
- The Demon Deacons then responded, as No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons knocked off No. 8 Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives of TCU.
- Wake Forest then clinched the doubles point, as Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni earned a come-from-behind win on court two.
- The Demon Deacons led 1-0, going into singles play.
- TCU had an excellent start to singles action, winning the opening set on five courts.
- The Horned Frogs took a 2-1 lead after logging wins in first and fifth singles, respectively.
- Freshman Luca Pow evened the ledger, securing a 6-1, 6-2 win in sixth singles.
- Pow is now a stellar 10-2 in dual singles action to start his career.
- TCU regained the lead (3-2) with a win in second singles.
- The Demon Deacons continued to battle but were unable to force a third set on the remaining courts.
- The Horned Frogs notched a win in fourth singles to clinch the match.
- Matthew Thomson was in a closely-contested encounter with No. 20 Pedro Vives at the time of the clinch.
- Wake Forest fell to No. 2 TCU, 4-2.
Singles Results
1. #62 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #23 Filippo Moroni (WF) 6-2, 6-3
2. #4 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #49 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) 7-5, 6-2
3. Matthew Thomson (WF) vs. #20 Pedro Vives (TCU) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished
4. #39 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Holden Koons (WF) 6-1, 6-2
6. Luca Pow (WF) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Results
1. #7 Holden Koons/DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) def. #8 Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives (TCU) 6-3
2. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Jack Pinnington/Jake Fearnley (TCU) 6-4
3. #20 Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Luca Pow/Luciano Tacchi (WF) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,1,6,2,4)
From Coach Bresky
"It's obviously disappointing to lose. You've got to give credit to TCU. They have a very experienced team, and they've been here before. We were fortunate to get the doubles point, and I thought we would be able to build off that momentum. It's obviously tough for both teams with the change of venue. You get an hour to practice, then you've got to play. Credit to them. They adjusted better than we did. I think there were a couple of spots where we just didn't play our best, unfortunately. Then, there were a couple of spots where we played really well. Overall, the tournament was a good learning experience. These are the positions we'd like to be in - having a chance to advance. We'll learn from this. We're going to get back, get some rest and prepare for the outdoor season." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now take an eight day hiatus before returning to action against No. 24 Georgia on Feb. 26.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Jake Fearnley / 0 (62/-) [TCU]
66
23
#2 Singles Match
12
Jack Pinnington / 0 (4/-) [TCU]
76
52
#3 Singles Match
123
Pedro Vives / 0 (20/-) [TCU]
650
43UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Sebastian Gorzny / 0 (39/-) [TCU]
67
16
#5 Singles Match
12
Lui Maxted / 0 [TCU]
66
12
#6 Singles Match
12
Tomas Jirousek / 0 [TCU]
12
66
Order of Finish:
5,1,6,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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