Sunday, January 19
Winston-Salem, N.C.
1 p.m.
Wake Forest University
4
vs
0
Tennessee
No. 4 Demon Deacons Notch First Ranked Win of 2025 Against No. 13 Tennessee, 4-0
1/19/2025 6:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Wake Forest then finished off a perfect Sunday with another 4-0 win over SC State.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – In front of an electric crowd of over 350 packed into the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center, the largest attendance in over two years, the No. 4-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team notched a pair of 4-0 victories Sunday afternoon over No. 13 Tennessee and SC State to improve to 5-0 on the year.
The Demon Deacons are now a combined 21-0 in singles and 10-0 in doubles to open the season, the best mark in both since the 2022 campaign.
In doubles against Tennessee, the dynamic duo of DK Suresh Ekambaram and Ioannis Xilas played together for the first time in dual-match play and picked up a dominant, 6-1, victory over Mitsui/Newton on court two. In third doubles, Franco Capalbo and Stefan Dostanic also notched an easy 6-1 win. Of note, Capalbo has now won three doubles matches in 2025 with three different partners.
Wake Forest remained dominant in singles play, as sophomore standout Luca Pow extended his dual-match winning streak to 23-consecutive matches as he easily handled Alan Jesudason (UT), 6-0, 6-1 in fourth singles and then Mikalai Bankou (SCSU), 6-2, 6-2 in first singles.
Ioannis Xilas and Luciano Tacchi both improved to 4-0 on the year in singles against Tennessee. Xilas battled back in the second set and defeated Jose Garcia (6-3, 6-4) in third singles right before Tacchi clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court five over Ian Cruz.
In the second match, Nikola Parichkov picked up his first win of the season as he defeated Ivan Pauliuchenka, 6-1, 6-2 on court six. Harry Thursfield improved to 2-0 and clinched the victory over the Bulldogs with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court four.
The victory over the Volunteers marked the first ranked win of the season for the Demon Deacons. Additionally, Wake Forest has now won four-consecutive home matches against Tennessee.
The Demon Deacons remained perfect all-time (5-0) against SC State.
How It Happened (Tennessee)
1. No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) vs. No. 34 Alex Kotzen (UT) 6(4)-7, 5-3, unfinished
2. Stefan Dostanic (WFU) vs. No. 18 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
3. No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) def. Jose Garcia (UT) 6-3, 6-4
4. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-0, 6-1
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Ian Cruz (UT) 6-4, 6-4
6. Franco Capalbo (WFU) vs. James Newton (UT) 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5
Doubles Results (Tennessee)
1. No. 4 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) vs. Jesudason/Kobierski (UT) 4-2, unfinished
2. No. 29 Suresh/Xilas (WFU) def. Mitsui/Newton (UT) 6-1
3. Dostanic/Capalbo (WFU) def. Kotzen/Garcia (UT) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2
How It Happened (SC State)
1. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Mikalai Bankou (SCSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Joaquin Guilleme (WFU) vs. Novak Novakovic (SCSU) 4-6, 5-0, unfinished
3. Franco Capalbo (WFU) vs. Aissa Benchakroun (SCSU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
4. Harry Thursfield (WFU) def.. Julius Augunas (SCSU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Cornelius Shalmi (WFU) vs. Gabriel Johnson (SCSU) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
6. Nikola Parichkov (WFU) def. Ivan Pauliuchenka (SCSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4
Doubles Results (SC State)
1. Suresh/Pow (WFU) def. Bankou/Benchakroun (SCSU) 6-1
2. Dostanic/Tacchi (WFU) def. Novakovic/Augunas (SCSU) 6-2
3. Mazev/Guilleme (WFU) vs. Johnson/Pauliuchenka (SCSU) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
From Coach Bresky
"Excellent day. I always say we have the best fans in the country and I mean that. It was a packed house and they're so loud and supportive. The guys were so excited to play a big match at home. We have a lot of respect for Tennessee, they've been a tough out for us. We obviously played a great doubles point and got up on them early and for us to be able to beat them 4-0 was a really good test to start the season. I like where we're at.
It was nice to get a second match in for some of the guys. South Carolina State was an NCAA tournament team last year, so it was good to give our guys an opportunity to get another match in. We're excited to get a little break before ITA Kickoff next weekend." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will remain at home as they prepare to host ITA Kickoff Weekend from Jan. 24-25. The winners of Wake Forest/Charlotte (5 p.m.) and North Carolina/Memphis (2 p.m.) will meet on Saturday for a chance to book a spot at ITA National Indoors next month.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Demon Deacons are now a combined 21-0 in singles and 10-0 in doubles to open the season, the best mark in both since the 2022 campaign.
In doubles against Tennessee, the dynamic duo of DK Suresh Ekambaram and Ioannis Xilas played together for the first time in dual-match play and picked up a dominant, 6-1, victory over Mitsui/Newton on court two. In third doubles, Franco Capalbo and Stefan Dostanic also notched an easy 6-1 win. Of note, Capalbo has now won three doubles matches in 2025 with three different partners.
Wake Forest remained dominant in singles play, as sophomore standout Luca Pow extended his dual-match winning streak to 23-consecutive matches as he easily handled Alan Jesudason (UT), 6-0, 6-1 in fourth singles and then Mikalai Bankou (SCSU), 6-2, 6-2 in first singles.
Ioannis Xilas and Luciano Tacchi both improved to 4-0 on the year in singles against Tennessee. Xilas battled back in the second set and defeated Jose Garcia (6-3, 6-4) in third singles right before Tacchi clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court five over Ian Cruz.
In the second match, Nikola Parichkov picked up his first win of the season as he defeated Ivan Pauliuchenka, 6-1, 6-2 on court six. Harry Thursfield improved to 2-0 and clinched the victory over the Bulldogs with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court four.
The victory over the Volunteers marked the first ranked win of the season for the Demon Deacons. Additionally, Wake Forest has now won four-consecutive home matches against Tennessee.
The Demon Deacons remained perfect all-time (5-0) against SC State.
How It Happened (Tennessee)
- Suresh/Xilas earned the first break of doubles play on court two.
- All three Demon Deacon pairs were up a break as Pow/Tacchi (3-1) Suresh/Xilas (4-0) and Capalbo/Dostanic (3-1) were all in control 15 minutes in.
- A few minutes later, all three doubles courts were 4-1 in favor of the Deacs.
- Wake Forest claimed the doubles point with 6-1 wins from Dostanic/Capalbo and Suresh/Xilas on courts three and two, respectively.
- In singles, the Demon Deacons on courts four, five and six all went up a break early.
- Pow was the first to take a set as he breezed to a 6-0 first-set victory in fourth singles.
- Dostanic took the first set in second singles, 6-4.
- Xilas continued to shine with a 6-3 first-set victory on court three.
- Suresh went into a tiebreak on court one while courts five and six also remained in a battle.
- On court five, Tacchi was the fourth Demon Deacon to take a first set (6-4).
- Tennessee took the first set on courts one and six.
- Pow put Wake Forest up 2-0 with a dominant, 6-0, 6-1 victory in fourth singles over Alan Jesudason.
- In third singles, Xilas battled back from down a break in the second set to move to 4-0 on the year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jose Garcia.
- The Demon Deacons remained perfect on the season as Tacchi clinched the win with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court five over Ian Cruz.
- Courts one, two and six went unfinished with all three Demon Deacons leading the second set.
1. No. 7 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) vs. No. 34 Alex Kotzen (UT) 6(4)-7, 5-3, unfinished
2. Stefan Dostanic (WFU) vs. No. 18 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
3. No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) def. Jose Garcia (UT) 6-3, 6-4
4. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Alan Jesudason (UT) 6-0, 6-1
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Ian Cruz (UT) 6-4, 6-4
6. Franco Capalbo (WFU) vs. James Newton (UT) 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5
Doubles Results (Tennessee)
1. No. 4 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) vs. Jesudason/Kobierski (UT) 4-2, unfinished
2. No. 29 Suresh/Xilas (WFU) def. Mitsui/Newton (UT) 6-1
3. Dostanic/Capalbo (WFU) def. Kotzen/Garcia (UT) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2
How It Happened (SC State)
- Suresh/Pow earned the first break of match No. 2 in first doubles.
- Right after Mazev/Guilleme went up a break on court three, Suresh/Pow finished off Bankou/Benchakroun on court one, 6-1.
- Dostanic/Tacchi caught fire in second doubles and clinched the point with a 6-2 win over Novakovic/Augunas.
- Parichkov (6-1) and Pow (6-2) were the first two to claim a set on courts six and one, respectively.
- A few moments later, Capalbo (6-3) and Thursfield (6-3) kept the momentum rolling on courts three and four.
- Shalmi (6-4) made it five of six Demon Deacons to win a first set on court five.
- Parichkov notched his first victory of the year with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory in sixth singles.
- With his second win of the day, Pow brought the Deacs to within a win away from clinching the match as he downed Mikalai Bankou, 6-2, 6-2 on court one.
- On court four, Thursfield clinched the match and moved the Deacs to 5-0 on the year with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Julius Augunas.
- The remaining three courts went unfinished.
1. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Mikalai Bankou (SCSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Joaquin Guilleme (WFU) vs. Novak Novakovic (SCSU) 4-6, 5-0, unfinished
3. Franco Capalbo (WFU) vs. Aissa Benchakroun (SCSU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
4. Harry Thursfield (WFU) def.. Julius Augunas (SCSU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Cornelius Shalmi (WFU) vs. Gabriel Johnson (SCSU) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
6. Nikola Parichkov (WFU) def. Ivan Pauliuchenka (SCSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4
Doubles Results (SC State)
1. Suresh/Pow (WFU) def. Bankou/Benchakroun (SCSU) 6-1
2. Dostanic/Tacchi (WFU) def. Novakovic/Augunas (SCSU) 6-2
3. Mazev/Guilleme (WFU) vs. Johnson/Pauliuchenka (SCSU) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
From Coach Bresky
"Excellent day. I always say we have the best fans in the country and I mean that. It was a packed house and they're so loud and supportive. The guys were so excited to play a big match at home. We have a lot of respect for Tennessee, they've been a tough out for us. We obviously played a great doubles point and got up on them early and for us to be able to beat them 4-0 was a really good test to start the season. I like where we're at.
It was nice to get a second match in for some of the guys. South Carolina State was an NCAA tournament team last year, so it was good to give our guys an opportunity to get another match in. We're excited to get a little break before ITA Kickoff next weekend." - Head coach Tony Bresky
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will remain at home as they prepare to host ITA Kickoff Weekend from Jan. 24-25. The winners of Wake Forest/Charlotte (5 p.m.) and North Carolina/Memphis (2 p.m.) will meet on Saturday for a chance to book a spot at ITA National Indoors next month.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Alex Kotzen / 0 (34/-) [TENN]
730
65UF
#2 Singles Match
123
Shunsuke Mitsui / 0 (18/-) [TENN]
450
66UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Jose Garcia / 0 [TENN]
34
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Alan Jesudason / 0 [TENN]
01
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Ian Cruz / 0 [TENN]
44
66
#6 Singles Match
123
James Newton / 0 [TENN]
630
44UF
Order of Finish:
4,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Football Media Availability (9/24/25)
Wednesday, September 24
Football Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
Wake Forest Football Head Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Week 5)
Tuesday, September 23
Coach Jake Dickert Press Conference (Sept. 22, 2025)
Monday, September 22