Friday, March 1
Charlottesville, VA
3:00 p.m.
Wake Forest University
3
at
4
#8 Virginia
No. 3 Wake Forest Falls to Defending National Champions in Instant Classic
3/1/2024 8:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Demon Deacons will return to action Sunday when they travel to face Virginia Tech.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 3-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to reigning back-to-back national champion, No. 8 Virginia, Friday evening at the Virginia Tennis Complex at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Despite the loss, the Demon Deacons (10-4, 0-1 ACC) own five wins over top-20 opponents to start the 2024 campaign.
Friday, Wake Forest faced an early deficit in doubles play, before storming back to clinch the doubles point behind victories on courts one and three, respectively. Of note, No. 3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons improved to a perfect 10-0 in dual doubles action to start the 2024 season.
Leading 1-0 going into singles play, the Demon Deacons extended their lead as freshman Luca Pow earned his sixth-consecutive dual singles victory with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win in fifth singles. Virginia (9-4, 1-0 ACC) then responded with three-consecutive victories on courts one, two and six, to take a 3-2 lead.
No. 117 Luciano Tacchi evened the ledger (3-3) with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory on court four over No. 45 Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg, but the Cavaliers clinched the match minutes later with a win in third singles.
Of note, Tacchi now owns two wins over ranked opponents in dual singles matches this season.
How It Happened
Singles Results
1. #10 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #53 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
2. #55 Inaki Montes (VA) def. #25 Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
3. #50 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 7-5
4. #117 Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. #45 J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5
5. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Alexander Kiefer (VA) 6-0, 6-3
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Holden Koons (WFU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Results
1. #3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WFU) def. Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper (VA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #48 J vd Schulenburg/Chris Rodesch (VA) def. Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-1
3. Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (WFU) def. Inaki Montes/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,6,1,2,4,3)
From Coach Bresky
"Full credit to Virginia. They're an experienced team. This was a great match and they just played a little better at the end. I really wish we could have finished outdoors to carry on that momentum, but that's just tennis. You have to deal with what comes your way. I'm proud of how we overcame that and put ourselves in a position to win. I'm disappointed that we couldn't pull it out, but I'm happy with where we're at. We're excited for another tough road match Sunday at Virginia Tech." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now travel to face No. 59 Virginia Tech on Sunday. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Despite the loss, the Demon Deacons (10-4, 0-1 ACC) own five wins over top-20 opponents to start the 2024 campaign.
Friday, Wake Forest faced an early deficit in doubles play, before storming back to clinch the doubles point behind victories on courts one and three, respectively. Of note, No. 3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons improved to a perfect 10-0 in dual doubles action to start the 2024 season.
Leading 1-0 going into singles play, the Demon Deacons extended their lead as freshman Luca Pow earned his sixth-consecutive dual singles victory with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win in fifth singles. Virginia (9-4, 1-0 ACC) then responded with three-consecutive victories on courts one, two and six, to take a 3-2 lead.
No. 117 Luciano Tacchi evened the ledger (3-3) with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory on court four over No. 45 Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg, but the Cavaliers clinched the match minutes later with a win in third singles.
Of note, Tacchi now owns two wins over ranked opponents in dual singles matches this season.
How It Happened
- Virginia got off to a hot start in doubles play, taking a commanding lead on courts one and two, respectively.
- No. 3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons trailed 3-0 in first doubles.
- The Cavaliers took the lead in doubles play with a win on court two.
- Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow earned a 7-5 victory over Inaki Montes/Dylan Dietrich, bringing the Demon Deacons one doubles win away from clinching the point.
- No. 3 Suresh/Koons rallied to knock off Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper 7-6 (7-4), securing the doubles point for Wake Forest.
- The Deacs led, 1-0, heading into singles action.
- Head coach Tony Bresky made a slight adjustment to the singles lineup, moving No. 53 DK Suresh Ekambaram to the top slot.
- No. 53 DK Suresh Ekambaram
- No. 25 Filippo Moroni
- Matthew Thomson
- No. 117 Luciano Tacchi
- Luca Pow
- Holden Koons
- Head coach Tony Bresky made a slight adjustment to the singles lineup, moving No. 53 DK Suresh Ekambaram to the top slot.
- Luca Pow extended the Demon Deacons' lead, earning his sixth-consecutive dual singles victory with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win in fifth singles.
- Virginia then took three-consecutive courts to take a 3-2 lead, with two courts still in play.
- No. 53 Suresh Ekambaram fell in a thriller to No. 10-ranked Chris Rodesch 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
- No. 117 Luciano Tacchi tied it at three apiece with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory on court four over No. 45 Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg.
- Virginia took court three to secure the victory.
- Wake Forest fell, 4-3, to the defending national champions.
Singles Results
1. #10 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #53 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
2. #55 Inaki Montes (VA) def. #25 Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
3. #50 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 7-5
4. #117 Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. #45 J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5
5. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Alexander Kiefer (VA) 6-0, 6-3
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Holden Koons (WFU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Results
1. #3 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WFU) def. Edoardo Graziani/James Hopper (VA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #48 J vd Schulenburg/Chris Rodesch (VA) def. Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-1
3. Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (WFU) def. Inaki Montes/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,6,1,2,4,3)
From Coach Bresky
"Full credit to Virginia. They're an experienced team. This was a great match and they just played a little better at the end. I really wish we could have finished outdoors to carry on that momentum, but that's just tennis. You have to deal with what comes your way. I'm proud of how we overcame that and put ourselves in a position to win. I'm disappointed that we couldn't pull it out, but I'm happy with where we're at. We're excited for another tough road match Sunday at Virginia Tech." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now travel to face No. 59 Virginia Tech on Sunday. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
123
664
Chris Rodesch / 0 (10/-) [VA]
176
#2 Singles Match
12
64
Inaki Montes / 0 (55/-) [VA]
76
#3 Singles Match
123
665
Dylan Dietrich / 0 (50/-) [VA]
727
#4 Singles Match
123
667
J vd Schulenburg / 0 (45/-) [VA]
475
#5 Singles Match
12
66
Alexander Kiefer / 0 [VA]
03
#6 Singles Match
12
44
Mans Dahlberg / 0 [VA]
66
Order of Finish:
5,6,1,2,4,3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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