Thursday, May 16
Stillwater, OK
7:30 p.m.
Wake Forest University
4
vs
1
#2 [3] Virginia
Demon Deacons Top Back-to-Back National Champions; Reach First Final Four Since 2019
5/17/2024 1:56:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Wake Forest will face Texas on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (EST), in the NCAA Semifinals.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Behind a stellar 3-1 mark in singles play, the No. 6-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team downed reigning back-to-back national champion, No. 3-seeded Virginia, 4-1, Thursday evening at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.
With the victory, the Demon Deacons (31-6, 10-2 ACC) reached the NCAA Semifinals for the third time in program history and the first time since 2019. Additionally, the Deacs became the first team to beat Virginia (25-6, 12-0 ACC) outdoors since May 17, 2021, while also becoming only the second ACC school to defeat the Cavaliers since Feb. 23, 2021.
NCAA Final Four Appearances
2018, 2019, 2024
Thursday, Wake Forest clinched the doubles point for the fourth-consecutive match behind wins on courts one and two. The Demon Deacons' momentum carried over into singles as they won the first set on five courts, with the lone Virginia win coming in a tiebreaker.
No. 124 Luciano Tacchi earned his career-high 21st dual singles victory of the season to extend the Deacs' lead, before Holden Koons and No. 79 DK Suresh Ekambaram earned wins on courts six and two, respectively, to punch Wake Forest's ticket to the final four.
Of note, Koons and Tacchi have now tallied a combined 46 dual singles wins this season.
How It Happened
Singles Results
1. #33 Inaki Montes (UVA) def. #25 Filippo Moroni (WAKE) 0-6 6-4 6-3
2. #79 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. #52 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4
3. #61 J vd Schulenburg (UVA) vs. Matthew Thomson (WAKE) match was unfinished
7-6 (8-6) 4-6 3-2
4. #124 Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer (UVA) 6-2 6-2
5. Mans Dahlberg (UVA) vs. Luca Pow (WAKE) match was unfinished 3-6 7-5 3-4
6. Holden Koons (WAKE) def. James Hopper (UVA) 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles Results
1. #2 Holden Koons and DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. Edoardo Graziani and James Hopper (UVA), 6-3
2. Dylan Dietrich and Inaki Montes (UVA) def. Filippo Moroni and Matthew Thomson (WAKE), 6-3
3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer and J vd Schulenburg (UVA), 7-5
From Coach Bresky
"We were happy to pull out the doubles point. That gave us some momentum going into singles play. We got off to a great start in singles. We knew Virginia wouldn't go away, no matter what, so we were hopeful to get some straight-set wins. They fought like they always do and turned the match on us for a second there. Overall, we're happy with the victory and excited to move on to the semifinals." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now move on to face Texas on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (EST), in the NCAA Semifinals.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
With the victory, the Demon Deacons (31-6, 10-2 ACC) reached the NCAA Semifinals for the third time in program history and the first time since 2019. Additionally, the Deacs became the first team to beat Virginia (25-6, 12-0 ACC) outdoors since May 17, 2021, while also becoming only the second ACC school to defeat the Cavaliers since Feb. 23, 2021.
NCAA Final Four Appearances
2018, 2019, 2024
Thursday, Wake Forest clinched the doubles point for the fourth-consecutive match behind wins on courts one and two. The Demon Deacons' momentum carried over into singles as they won the first set on five courts, with the lone Virginia win coming in a tiebreaker.
No. 124 Luciano Tacchi earned his career-high 21st dual singles victory of the season to extend the Deacs' lead, before Holden Koons and No. 79 DK Suresh Ekambaram earned wins on courts six and two, respectively, to punch Wake Forest's ticket to the final four.
Of note, Koons and Tacchi have now tallied a combined 46 dual singles wins this season.
How It Happened
- Doubles play started tightly contested as Wake Forest went up a break on court one, while going down a break on court two.
- Third doubles remained on serve.
- No. 2 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons earned a 6-3 victory on court one, bringing the Demon Deacons just one match away from clinching the doubles point.
- Virginia immediately responded with a win on court two to even the doubles ledger.
- Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow earned their 19th dual doubles win of the season to give Wake Forest a 1-0 lead.
- The Demon Deacons have secured the doubles point in each of their four NCAA Tournament matches.
- The Deacs got off to a strong start in singles play, taking the first set on five courts.
- No. 25 Filippo Moroni took the opening set in first singles, 6-0.
- No. 124 Luciano Tacchi became the first Demon Deacon to win a singles match, taking court four (6-2, 6-2).
- Despite going down a break in the second set, Holden Koons battled back to down James Hopper (6-3, 7-6).
- Virginia took first singles to narrow its deficit.
- Wake Forest held a 3-1 lead with three courts still in play.
- No. 79 DK Suresh Ekambaram clinched Wake Forest's 4-1 victory, defeating No. 52 Dylan Dietrich in a three-set thriller.
- The Demon Deacons advanced to the final four for the first time since 2019.
Singles Results
1. #33 Inaki Montes (UVA) def. #25 Filippo Moroni (WAKE) 0-6 6-4 6-3
2. #79 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. #52 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-4
3. #61 J vd Schulenburg (UVA) vs. Matthew Thomson (WAKE) match was unfinished
7-6 (8-6) 4-6 3-2
4. #124 Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer (UVA) 6-2 6-2
5. Mans Dahlberg (UVA) vs. Luca Pow (WAKE) match was unfinished 3-6 7-5 3-4
6. Holden Koons (WAKE) def. James Hopper (UVA) 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles Results
1. #2 Holden Koons and DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) def. Edoardo Graziani and James Hopper (UVA), 6-3
2. Dylan Dietrich and Inaki Montes (UVA) def. Filippo Moroni and Matthew Thomson (WAKE), 6-3
3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi (WAKE) def. Alexander Kiefer and J vd Schulenburg (UVA), 7-5
From Coach Bresky
"We were happy to pull out the doubles point. That gave us some momentum going into singles play. We got off to a great start in singles. We knew Virginia wouldn't go away, no matter what, so we were hopeful to get some straight-set wins. They fought like they always do and turned the match on us for a second there. Overall, we're happy with the victory and excited to move on to the semifinals." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now move on to face Texas on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (EST), in the NCAA Semifinals.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,3
#1 Singles Match
123
643
Inaki Montes / 0 (33/-) [UVA]
066
#2 Singles Match
123
746
Dylan Dietrich / 0 (52/-) [UVA]
664
#3 Singles Match
1234
662UF
J vd Schulenburg / 0 (61/-) [UVA]
743UF
#4 Singles Match
12
66
Alexander Kiefer / 0 [UVA]
22
#5 Singles Match
1234
654UF
Mans Dahlberg / 0 [UVA]
373UF
#6 Singles Match
12
67
James Hopper / 0 [UVA]
36
Order of Finish:
4,1,6,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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