Friday, February 23
Montgomery, Ala.
12:30 p.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
#25 Yale
Demon Deacons Primed for 76th Annual Blue Gray Classic
2/22/2024 12:01:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Action is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. Friday against the Yale Bulldogs.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A year after claiming the title, the Wake Forest women's tennis team is set to make its return to the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic this weekend, Feb. 23-24, in Montgomery, Ala. It will mark the fifth-consecutive appearance in the event for the Demon Deacons and sixth time in the last seven years.
The first round will begin on Friday (Feb. 23) with the Deacs (4-4, 0-0 ACC) set to take on the No. 3-seed Yale at 12:30 p.m. at Lagoon Park's tennis center. Admission to the event is free and live scoring can be found here.
Following the match against the Bulldogs, the Deacs will either take on the No.1-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders or the No. 8-seed Furman Paladins. The second-round matchup will begin at either 5 p.m. on Friday or 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Last year, the Demon Deacons won the event after defeating No. 47 Texas Tech, 4-2, in the finals. It marked the Deacs' second Blue Gray Classic Championship, with the first coming in 2020 after taking down No. 5 Princeton.
Senior Casie Wooten, who recently moved up to the No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings, will be the highest-ranked singles player in the event after earning a top-five victory last weekend. So far this season, Wooten is tied for the team lead with three singles victories in dual play. Additionally, she has picked up five wins against ranked opponents since the start of the fall, including three against the top-10.
Participating Teams (Seed)
Ranked Participants
Last Time at the Blue Gray
For the second time in four years, the Wake Forest women's tennis team has claimed the Blue Gray Classic championship, as the Demon Deacons defeated No. 47 Texas Tech 4-2 in the finals..
It was the second ranked victory on the day for the Deacs, as they knocked off No. 32 Illinois 4-1 in the semifinals. Additionally, Wake Forest made its fifth-consecutive championship appearance in the Blue Gray Classic. In 2020, they took down No. 5 Princeton in the championship.
Helping secure the doubles point over Texas Tech, Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth became the sixth Wake Forest pair all-time to reach 50 career wins. Then in singles action, Brylin moved into a tie for the 10th-most singles wins in program history (86) alongside Emma Davis (2015-19). Battles throughout highlighted the championship bout before Nevena Carton secured the victory by defeating Texas Tech's Metka Komac 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
After taking the doubles point against No. 32 Illinois, Wake Forest kept its momentum going in singles competition. The Deacs knocked off the Fighting Illini in a 4-1 decision for its first ranked match victory of 2023. Brylin shined in another straight-sets victory for her second of the year over a ranked opponent. The team captain additionally has won a team-best 10 solo matches this season.
Last Time Out
Last Saturday (Feb. 17), the Demon Deacons dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 24 South Carolina before a dominant 7-0 sweep over Campbell in Wake Forest's first two home matches of the season.
Senior Casie Wooten highlighted the day with her first-career victory over a top-five opponent, as she took down No. 3 Ayana Akli (6-4, 3-6, 6-1) in first singles against South Carolina. It marked Wooten's fifth ranked win of the 2023-24 season and third of the spring. She followed that up with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the second match, in addition to a 6-3 doubles win with redshirt freshman Krystal Blanch.
Marcella Cruz also picked up a ranked victory against South Carolina. The graduate student defeated No. 108 Shahar Biran (6-4, 7-6[5], 6-2) in second singles. It was her first victory over a ranked opponent in a Wake Forest uniform and second overall. Similar to Wooten, she grabbed a second singles victory (6-3, 6-4) in the match against Campbell and a 6-2 win in third doubles with senior Mia Ahamd.
Wake Forest (4-4, 0-0 ACC) took the doubles point in both matches on Saturday and have now earned the first point in five-consecutive matches.
The Deacs are now 9-16 all-time against South Carolina and remain a perfect 4-0 against Campbell.
Of note, Wake Forest is 60-7 (.896 winning percentage) against non-ACC opponents at the Wake Forest Tennis Center since the start of the 2014 season.
Up Next
Following the event, Wake Forest will open ACC play with a pair of home matches against Louisville on Friday (March 1) and Notre Dame on Sunday (March 3).
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
The first round will begin on Friday (Feb. 23) with the Deacs (4-4, 0-0 ACC) set to take on the No. 3-seed Yale at 12:30 p.m. at Lagoon Park's tennis center. Admission to the event is free and live scoring can be found here.
Following the match against the Bulldogs, the Deacs will either take on the No.1-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders or the No. 8-seed Furman Paladins. The second-round matchup will begin at either 5 p.m. on Friday or 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Last year, the Demon Deacons won the event after defeating No. 47 Texas Tech, 4-2, in the finals. It marked the Deacs' second Blue Gray Classic Championship, with the first coming in 2020 after taking down No. 5 Princeton.
Senior Casie Wooten, who recently moved up to the No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings, will be the highest-ranked singles player in the event after earning a top-five victory last weekend. So far this season, Wooten is tied for the team lead with three singles victories in dual play. Additionally, she has picked up five wins against ranked opponents since the start of the fall, including three against the top-10.
Participating Teams (Seed)
- No. 22 Texas Tech (1)
- No. 24 Illinois (2)
- No. 26 Yale (3)
- No. 36 Alabama (4)
- No. 43 Arizona (5)
- No. 59 Wake Forest (6)
- Tulsa (7)
- Furman (8)
- 12:30 p.m. (Friday) - No. 26 Yale
- 5 p.m. (Friday) OR 8 a.m. (Saturday) - No. 22 Texas Tech OR Furman
Ranked Participants
- Singles
- No. 26 - Casie Wooten (Wake Forest)
- No. 31 - Loudmilla Bencheikh (Alabama)
- No. 59 - Cristina Tiglea (Texas Tech)
- No. 79 - Petra Sedlackova (Alabama)
- Doubles
- No. 7 - Mekta Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova (Texas Tech)
- No. 37 - Loudmilla Bencheikh/Anne Marie Hiser (Alabama)
- No. 55 - Orly Ogilvy/AnnWright Guerry (Yale)
Last Time at the Blue Gray
For the second time in four years, the Wake Forest women's tennis team has claimed the Blue Gray Classic championship, as the Demon Deacons defeated No. 47 Texas Tech 4-2 in the finals..
It was the second ranked victory on the day for the Deacs, as they knocked off No. 32 Illinois 4-1 in the semifinals. Additionally, Wake Forest made its fifth-consecutive championship appearance in the Blue Gray Classic. In 2020, they took down No. 5 Princeton in the championship.
Helping secure the doubles point over Texas Tech, Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth became the sixth Wake Forest pair all-time to reach 50 career wins. Then in singles action, Brylin moved into a tie for the 10th-most singles wins in program history (86) alongside Emma Davis (2015-19). Battles throughout highlighted the championship bout before Nevena Carton secured the victory by defeating Texas Tech's Metka Komac 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
After taking the doubles point against No. 32 Illinois, Wake Forest kept its momentum going in singles competition. The Deacs knocked off the Fighting Illini in a 4-1 decision for its first ranked match victory of 2023. Brylin shined in another straight-sets victory for her second of the year over a ranked opponent. The team captain additionally has won a team-best 10 solo matches this season.
Last Time Out
Last Saturday (Feb. 17), the Demon Deacons dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 24 South Carolina before a dominant 7-0 sweep over Campbell in Wake Forest's first two home matches of the season.
Senior Casie Wooten highlighted the day with her first-career victory over a top-five opponent, as she took down No. 3 Ayana Akli (6-4, 3-6, 6-1) in first singles against South Carolina. It marked Wooten's fifth ranked win of the 2023-24 season and third of the spring. She followed that up with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the second match, in addition to a 6-3 doubles win with redshirt freshman Krystal Blanch.
Marcella Cruz also picked up a ranked victory against South Carolina. The graduate student defeated No. 108 Shahar Biran (6-4, 7-6[5], 6-2) in second singles. It was her first victory over a ranked opponent in a Wake Forest uniform and second overall. Similar to Wooten, she grabbed a second singles victory (6-3, 6-4) in the match against Campbell and a 6-2 win in third doubles with senior Mia Ahamd.
Wake Forest (4-4, 0-0 ACC) took the doubles point in both matches on Saturday and have now earned the first point in five-consecutive matches.
The Deacs are now 9-16 all-time against South Carolina and remain a perfect 4-0 against Campbell.
Of note, Wake Forest is 60-7 (.896 winning percentage) against non-ACC opponents at the Wake Forest Tennis Center since the start of the 2014 season.
Up Next
Following the event, Wake Forest will open ACC play with a pair of home matches against Louisville on Friday (March 1) and Notre Dame on Sunday (March 3).
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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