Friday, January 17
Waco, TX
2 p.m. (ET)
Wake Forest University
at
Baylor
No. 4 Demon Deacons Set for First Road Test of 2025 Against Baylor
1/16/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
This will mark the third-consecutive season the two schools have met and fifth time since 2020.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Following a perfect 2-0 opening day on Sunday, the No. 4-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis program will now hit the road for the first time this season, as it travels to Waco, Texas for a clash with the Baylor Bears inside the Hurd Tennis Center.
First serve is slated for 2 p.m. eastern time.
Match Schedule
How To Follow
The live stream for all matches will be provided via Baylor's website, while the live results can be found here.
Last Time Out
The Wake Forest men's tennis team opened the 2025 season with a pair of 7-0 victories over Tennessee Tech and ETSU this past Sunday inside the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
With the sweep, Wake Forest has now started the season 2-0 for the fourth-consecutive season.
In doubles, the Demon Deacons took courts one and two in both matches on Sunday, highlighted by sophomore Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi going 2-0 together as they kept the momentum going after being named doubles All-Americans in the fall.
Graduate student Franco Capalbo also notched two doubles victories on the day, one with Martin Mazev (6-2 against Tennessee Tech) and another with Ioannis Xilas (6-3 vs. ETSU).
In singles, sophomore standout Luca Pow extended his dual-match winning-streak to 21-consecutive matches dating back to last season as he took down Murilo Burckhardt (TTU) 6-1, 6-2 and Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5).
Six players made their dual-match debuts for Wake Forest, with Xilas, Harry Thursfield, Dylan Chang, Joaquin Guilleme, Nikola Parichkov and Mazev all taking the court on Sunday.
Xilas, who played both matches in the first singles position, was perfect on the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Tennessee Tech's Alex Alvarex and a 6-4, 6-2 win over ETSU's Peter Kalocsai. Of note, both of his wins were match clinches.
ITA Rankings
The Demon Deacons were tabbed as the fourth-best team in the nation in the preseason ITA poll, the highest-ranked out of six ACC teams in the top 25. Individually, Wake Forest has two singles players and three doubles pairs ranked.
Singles
Doubles
The Bresky Era
Since arriving at Wake Forest, head coach Tony Bresky has enjoyed a decorated career, winning ITA National Coach of the Year in 2018, along with garnering ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and 2016. Additionally, Bresky has been tabbed ITA Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024). Of note, Bresky led Wake Forest to its first-ever national title in 2018, after accumulating a 33-2 mark.
Individually, Bresky has coached two ACC Players of the Year (Noah Rubin and Melios Efstathiou), along with 35 All-ACC selections and 10 ITA Singles All-Americans.
During his tenure at Wake Forest, Bresky has amassed 332 wins. Of note, early in 2023 with a victory over No. 6 Tennessee, Bresky became the winningest coach in program history, surpassing the legendary Jim Leighton.
Wake Forest's Team Success Under Bresky
Returners Shine at NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
In the fall, standout DK Suresh Ekambaram was officially tabbed as a singles All-American following his run to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships. It marked his first time earning the honors in singles and second time overall, after being named a doubles All-American back in the spring with Holden Koons.
He became the 13th Wake Forest player to accomplish the feat and just the second Demon Deacon to become an All-American in singles and doubles, joining Cory Parr (2006-2009). Additionally, Suresh is just the fourth Demon Deacon to reach the semifinals and first since Petros Chrysochos and Borna Gojo both made a run to the finals in 2018.
After earning automatic qualification to the championships by winning the Carolina Regionals, the doubles pair of freshman Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi carried the momentum into Texas.
The duo became All-Americans for the first time after a comeback victory over Indiana's No. 52-ranked Facundo Yunis/Jip van Assendelft in the round of 16. It marked the ninth time in program history a doubles pair earned All-American status.
The Matchup - Baylor
Similar to the Deacs, the Bears opened the season with a pair of 7-0 sweeps as they knocked off in-state foes Lamar and Abilene Christian. Last season, Baylor went 13-3 at home.
The Bears have three singles players ranked inside the top 60 in No. 25 Devin Badenhorst, No. 54 Zsombor Velcz and No. 58 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen.
Friday will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Demon Deacons and the Bears as the Deacs own a 4-3 record in the series. Of note, Wake Forest defeated Baylor on the road, 4-0, in 2023 and 5-2 at home last season.
Ranked Bears
Singles
Doubles
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will be back at home on Sunday, Jan. 19 as it hosts another doubleheader against No. 13 Tennessee and SC State inside the Wake Forest Tennis Center. The matches are slated for 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
Follow the Deacs
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
First serve is slated for 2 p.m. eastern time.
Match Schedule
- Friday, Jan. 17
- 2 p.m. (ET) - No. 4 Wake Forest at Baylor
How To Follow
The live stream for all matches will be provided via Baylor's website, while the live results can be found here.
Last Time Out
The Wake Forest men's tennis team opened the 2025 season with a pair of 7-0 victories over Tennessee Tech and ETSU this past Sunday inside the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
With the sweep, Wake Forest has now started the season 2-0 for the fourth-consecutive season.
In doubles, the Demon Deacons took courts one and two in both matches on Sunday, highlighted by sophomore Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi going 2-0 together as they kept the momentum going after being named doubles All-Americans in the fall.
Graduate student Franco Capalbo also notched two doubles victories on the day, one with Martin Mazev (6-2 against Tennessee Tech) and another with Ioannis Xilas (6-3 vs. ETSU).
In singles, sophomore standout Luca Pow extended his dual-match winning-streak to 21-consecutive matches dating back to last season as he took down Murilo Burckhardt (TTU) 6-1, 6-2 and Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5).
Six players made their dual-match debuts for Wake Forest, with Xilas, Harry Thursfield, Dylan Chang, Joaquin Guilleme, Nikola Parichkov and Mazev all taking the court on Sunday.
Xilas, who played both matches in the first singles position, was perfect on the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Tennessee Tech's Alex Alvarex and a 6-4, 6-2 win over ETSU's Peter Kalocsai. Of note, both of his wins were match clinches.
ITA Rankings
The Demon Deacons were tabbed as the fourth-best team in the nation in the preseason ITA poll, the highest-ranked out of six ACC teams in the top 25. Individually, Wake Forest has two singles players and three doubles pairs ranked.
Singles
| DK Suresh Ekambaram | 7 |
| Ioannis Xilas | 115 |
| Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow | 4 |
| DK Suresh Ekambaram/Andrew Delgado | 8 |
| DK Suresh Ekambaram/Ioannis Xilas | 29 |
Since arriving at Wake Forest, head coach Tony Bresky has enjoyed a decorated career, winning ITA National Coach of the Year in 2018, along with garnering ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and 2016. Additionally, Bresky has been tabbed ITA Regional Coach of the Year on five occasions (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024). Of note, Bresky led Wake Forest to its first-ever national title in 2018, after accumulating a 33-2 mark.
Individually, Bresky has coached two ACC Players of the Year (Noah Rubin and Melios Efstathiou), along with 35 All-ACC selections and 10 ITA Singles All-Americans.
During his tenure at Wake Forest, Bresky has amassed 332 wins. Of note, early in 2023 with a victory over No. 6 Tennessee, Bresky became the winningest coach in program history, surpassing the legendary Jim Leighton.
Wake Forest's Team Success Under Bresky
- NCAA Championship: 2018
- ACC Tournament: 2016, 2018, 2019
- ACC Regular Season: 2017, 2018, 2019
- ITA National Team Indoor Championship: 2018
Returners Shine at NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
In the fall, standout DK Suresh Ekambaram was officially tabbed as a singles All-American following his run to the semifinals at the NCAA Championships. It marked his first time earning the honors in singles and second time overall, after being named a doubles All-American back in the spring with Holden Koons.
He became the 13th Wake Forest player to accomplish the feat and just the second Demon Deacon to become an All-American in singles and doubles, joining Cory Parr (2006-2009). Additionally, Suresh is just the fourth Demon Deacon to reach the semifinals and first since Petros Chrysochos and Borna Gojo both made a run to the finals in 2018.
After earning automatic qualification to the championships by winning the Carolina Regionals, the doubles pair of freshman Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi carried the momentum into Texas.
The duo became All-Americans for the first time after a comeback victory over Indiana's No. 52-ranked Facundo Yunis/Jip van Assendelft in the round of 16. It marked the ninth time in program history a doubles pair earned All-American status.
The Matchup - Baylor
Similar to the Deacs, the Bears opened the season with a pair of 7-0 sweeps as they knocked off in-state foes Lamar and Abilene Christian. Last season, Baylor went 13-3 at home.
The Bears have three singles players ranked inside the top 60 in No. 25 Devin Badenhorst, No. 54 Zsombor Velcz and No. 58 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen.
Friday will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Demon Deacons and the Bears as the Deacs own a 4-3 record in the series. Of note, Wake Forest defeated Baylor on the road, 4-0, in 2023 and 5-2 at home last season.
Ranked Bears
Singles
| #25 | Devin Badenhorst |
| #54 | Zsombor Velcz |
| #58 | Oskar Brostrom Poulsen |
| #3 | Miladinovic/Brostrom Poulsen |
| #17 | Velcz/Badenhorst |
| #27 | Velcz/Brostrom Poulsen |
| #101 | Koenig/Daniel Abdul Hazli |
The Demon Deacons will be back at home on Sunday, Jan. 19 as it hosts another doubleheader against No. 13 Tennessee and SC State inside the Wake Forest Tennis Center. The matches are slated for 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
Follow the Deacs
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
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