Deacs’ Comeback Bid Falls Short in Semifinals of ACC Tournament

CARY, N.C. – The No. 2-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 6 seed Florida State Saturday evening at the Cary Tennis Park.

The Demon Deacons (27-6, 10-2 ACC) reached the semifinals of the ACC Tournament for the eighth time in the past nine seasons after sweeping Georgia Tech on Friday.

After dropping the doubles point, and losing the first set on all six singles courts, the Deacs rallied to even the ledger at three apiece behind singles wins from Holden Koons, No. 111 Luciano Tacchi and No. 73 DK Suresh Ekambaram.

Of note, Suresh Ekambaram and Tacchi have both now won four-consecutive dual singles matches. Additionally, Koons' win on court five marked his 22nd dual singles victory this season, tying freshman Luca Pow for the team high.

With just one court remaining Saturday, and the score tied 3-3, Florida State (20-7, 7-5 ACC) clinched the match as Jamie Connel earned a tightly-contested 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 victory over Matthew Thomson in third singles.

Wake Forest will now await its postseason fate, as the NCAA Selection Show is slated for April 29 at 6 p.m.

How It Happened

Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow took an early 3-0 lead in third doubles, while courts one and two remained on serve.
Florida State struck first in doubles, as No. 27 Antoine Cornut-Chauv/Josh Dous-Karpenschi defeated No. 2 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons.
The Seminoles then clinched the point behind a 6-4 win from Loris Pourroy/Youcef Rihane in second doubles.
- Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow led 5-3 at the time of the clinch.
Wake Forest faced a 1-0 deficit entering singles play.
- Luca Pow was unable to compete.
Florida State carried its momentum over into singles, winning the first set on all six courts.
The Seminoles immediately took a 3-0 lead after taking first and sixth singles, respectively.
Wake Forest came roaring back, as Holden Koons knocked off Josh Dous-Karpenschi on court five.
No. 111 Luciano Tacchi then brought the Deacs within one, downing Youcef Rihane (4-6, 6-1, 6-3).
No. 73 DK Suresh Ekambaram evened the ledger minutes later, earning a 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 win in second singles.
Florida State clinched the match with a victory on court three.
The Demon Deacons fell to the Seminoles, 4-3.

Singles Results
1. #5 Antoine Cornut-Chauv (FSU) def. #31 Filippo Moroni (WFU) 7-5, 6-4
2. #73 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) def. Loris Pourroy (FSU) 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
3. Jamie Connel (FSU) def. Matthew Thomson (WFU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
4. #111 Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Youcef Rihane (FSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Holden Koons (WFU) def. Josh Dous-Karpenschi (FSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
6. Alex Bulte (FSU) def. Jamieson Nathan (WFU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles Results
1. #27 Antoine Cornut-Chauv/Josh Dous-Karpenschi (FSU) def. #2 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WFU) 6-3
2. #79 Loris Pourroy/Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Matthew Thomson/Filippo Moroni (WFU) 6-4
3. Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (WFU) vs. Alex Bulte/Jamie Connel (FSU) 5-3, unfinished

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

From Coach Bresky
"Congratulations to Florida State. They played an excellent match. On our end, I'm proud of the fight and toughness we showed. Injuries are just a part of sports. Luca (Pow) getting hurt was a huge blow to us. Not having him hurt us mentally to start singles play, but we dug in and fought back. We were right there at the end. We'll now turn our attention to the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully we can get healthy and gear up for a strong postseason push." - Head coach Tony Bresky

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now turn their attention to the NCAA Selection Show on April 29 at 6 p.m.

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Deacs’ Comeback Bid Falls Short in Semifinals of ACC Tournament

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Holden Koons

Filippo Moroni

Jamieson Nathan

Luca Pow

DK Suresh Ekambaram

Luciano Tacchi

Matthew Thomson

Wake Forest Athletics