Wake Forest Splits Doubleheader to Open 2025 Season

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's tennis team opened up their 2025 spring schedule by splitting their doubleheader against No. 18 Tennessee and East Carolina at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday.

In their opening match, the Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-0 ACC) fell to the Volunteers (2-0, 0-0 SEC) in a tightly contested battle, 4-3.

The Deacs got off to an early start, picking up a doubles point after graduate student Anna Zhang and junior Whitley Pate came away with a 6-3 win in third doubles, while graduate student Makayla Mills and redshirt sophomore Krystal Blanch picked up a 7-5 victory over Tomase/Yan at first doubles shortly afterwards.

In solo action, Blanch added to her impressive day with an upset victory over No. 19 Catherine Aulia (6-2, 7-5) in second singles. Sophomore Sankavi Gownder also came away from her match victorious, defeating Elim Yan (6-4, 7-5) in sixth singles.

The Demon Deacons bounced back with a 4-0 sweep of East Carolina (0-2, 0-0 American). The Deacs secured the doubles point once again as Zhang/Pate swept ECU's Champion/Muzzolon, 4-0, before junior Nevena Carton and freshman Kady Tannenbaum clinched with a 6-1 win over Lancaster/Rivers.

The Deacs continued their momentum into singles play, as both Tannenbaum and fellow freshman Brianna Baldi secured their first career dual match victories. Tannenbaum defeated Isabel Rivera (6-1, 7-5) at third singles, and Baldi defeated Anna Lou Champion (6-4, 6-2) at fourth singles. Junior Jingyi Li clinched the match for the Deacs moments later with a straight-sets win over Lilly Lancaster (6-2, 6-4) at sixth singles.

The Deacs will continue their homestand on Monday as they turn their attention to an early afternoon match versus East Tennessee State. First serve is scheduled for noon at the Indoor Tennis Center.

How It Happened (Tennessee)

Junior Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum picked up an early break against Tennessee's Aulia/Britez Risso.
- Graduate student Makayla Mills and redshirt sophomore Krystal Blanch, as well as graduate student Anna Zhang and junior Whitley Pate picked up early advantages shortly afterwards.
Zhang/Pate picked up a 6-3 victory over Raidt/Yi-Piipari to give the Deacs the advantage in doubles.
Blanch/Mills earned a hard-earned 7-5 upset victory over No. 29 Tomase/Yan to secure the doubles point for the Deacs.
- Carton/Tannenbaum were in a tight battle with Aulia/Britez Russo on court two before the doubles point was clinched.
Blanch opened up singles by taking the first set from No. 19 Catherine Aulia (6-2) at second singles.
- Sophomore Sankavi Gownder followed suit a few minutes later, picking up a 6-4 win over Elmin Yam in the first set.
Freshman Kady Tannenbaum picked up the first set in her match against No. 54 Vanesa Suarez.
The Volunteers tied up the match at 1-1 with a win at fifth singles.
Tennessee took a 2-1 lead with a victory at third singles.
Simultaneous wins from Blanch at second singles and Gownder at sixth singles gave the Demon Deacons a 3-2 advantage.
- Gownder battled back in the second set to take the match 6-4, 7-5 to tie the match back at 2-2 for the Deacs.
- Blanch gave the Demon Deacons the lead in the match with an upset victory over No. 19 Aulia (6-2, 7-5).
The Deacs' upset bid came just short, falling to the Volunteers 4-3.

Singles Results

No. 10 Elza Tomase (Tenn.) def. Nevena Carton (WF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Krystal Blanch (WF) def. No. 19 Catherine Aulia (Tenn.) 6-2, 7-5
Whitley Pate vs. Maeve Thornton (Tenn.) def. Whitley Pate (WF) 6-3, 6-2
No. 54 Vanesa Suarez (Tenn.) def. Kady Tannenbaum (WF) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
No. 106 Leyla Britez Risso (Tenn.) def. Brianna Baldi (WF) 6-3, 6-1
Sankavi Gownder (WF) def. Elim Yan (Tenn.) 6-4, 7-5

Order of finish: 5, 3, 6, 2 , 4, 1

Doubles Results:

Mills/Blanch (WF) def. Tomase/Yan (Tenn.) 7-5
No. 44 Carton/Tannenbaum (WF) vs. Aulia/Britez Risso (Tenn.) 5-6 UF
Zhang/Pate (WF) def. Raidt/Yi-Pippari 6-3

Order of finish: 3,1

How It Happened (ECU)

Zhang/Pate picked up their second win of the day, sweeping ECU's Champion/Mazzulon 6-0.
Tannenbaum/Carton secured the doubles point for the Demon Deacons with a dominant 6-1 victory over Lancaster/Rivera 6-1.
- Blanch and sophomore Aubrey Nisbet, who was making her first career appearance for the Deacs, were ahead 5-2 over Bachir/Jeromin before the point was clinched.
Tannenbaum picked up a quick first set victory against ECU's Isabella Rivera, taking the set (6-1).
Junior Jingyi Li secured the first set with a 6-2 win before freshman Brianna Baldi clinched the first set 6-4 shortly afterwards.
Carton and Gownder both picked up a 6-2 advantage after the first set.
Pate picked up a tightly-contested 7-5 opening set victory at second singles.
Baldi recorded her first career dual match win with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over ECU's Anna Lou Champion to give the Deacs a 2-0 advantage.
- Tannenbaum clinched her match shortly afterwards, defeating Isabella Rivera 6-1, 7-5 at third singles to put Wake Forest one win away from the win.
Junior Stella Li clinched the match for the Deacs with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lilly Lancaster at sixth singles.

Singles Results

Nevena Carton (WF) vs. Ines Bachir (ECU) 6-2, 5-2 UF
Whitley Pate (WF) vs. Martina Muzzolon (ECU) 7-5, 1-0 UF
Kady Tannenbaum (WF) def. Isabella Rivera (ECU) 6-1, 7-5
Brianna Baldi (WF) def. Anna Lou Champion (ECU) 6-4, 6-2
Sankavi Gownder vs. Joan Madi (ECU) 6-2, 3-3 UF
Jingyi Li (WF) def. Lilly Lancaster 6-2, 6-4

Order of finish: 4, 3, 6

Doubles Results

Blanch/Nisbet (WF) vs. Bachir/Jeromin (ECU) 5-2 UF
No. 44 Carton/Tannenbaum (WF) def. Lancaster/Rivers (ECU) 6-1
Pate/Zhang (WF) def. Champion/Muzzolon (ECU) 6-0

Order of finish: 3, 2

From Coach Wyshner
"While it was heartbreaking to be that close to starting the season with a big, top-15 win, I'm still really pleased with everything I saw on the court today. We played great doubles tennis in both matches. That's something that we've really put a lot of effort into being able to do this spring. Our battle in singles was great. We took care of business in the second match despite the long day. Particular mention goes to Krystal [Blanch] for getting a top-20 nationally ranked win. Sankavi [Gownder] was really good at rallying from 2-5 in the second set to win 6-4, 7-5 against Tennessee, and Kady [Tannenbaum] and Nevena [Carton] both went head-to-head with nationally ranked opponents. If today is a sign of what we can do, this spring could be a lot of fun."- Head coach Jeff Wyshner

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will conclude their first weekend of action as they take on East Tennessee State at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center on Monday.

First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. and admission is free for all spectators.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Krystal Blanch

Nevena Carton

Sankavi Gownder

Jingyi Li

Makayla Mills

Aubrey Nisbet

Whitley Pate

Kady Tannenbaum

Anna Zhang

Wake Forest Athletics