Friday, February 28
South Bend, Ind.
4 p.m.
Wake Forest University
3
at
4
Notre Dame
Demon Deacons Drop Heartbreaker to No. 24 Notre Dame in ACC Opener
2/28/2025 9:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Freshman Brianna Baldi eclipsed the double-digit wins mark, while graduate student Anna Zhang earned her first singles win of her Wake Forest career.
SOUTH BEND, IN – On the road for the third-consecutive weekend, the Wake Forest women's tennis team opened up its 2025 conference schedule with a matchup against No. 24 Notre Dame, ultimately dropping a heartbreaker to the Fighting Irish (12-1, 2-0 ACC), 4-3.
The Demon Deacons (10-4, 0-1 ACC) took the early advantage in the match after securing the doubles point for the 13th time this season. Graduate student Anna Zhang and junior Whitley Pate notched their 10th win of the season as a duo at third doubles, defeating Pozder/Molnar, 6-3. After the Fighting Irish came away with a win at first doubles to even the doubles match, junior Nevena Carton and freshman Kady Tannenbaum clinched the point for Wake Forest with a 6-3 victory over Hanford/Matsuno at second doubles.
With Friday's doubles results, the Demon Deacons are now 26-4 in doubles matches this season, including Zhang/Pate continuing their undefeated season with a 10-0 record, and Carton/Tannenbaum improving to 9-2 as a duo.
In singles play, freshman Brianna Baldi extended the Wake Forest lead with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory against Rylie Hanford at sixth singles. Baldi has now eclipsed the double-digit win mark this season following Friday's victory, as the Greensboro, N.C. native improved to 10-2 during her freshman campaign.
Zhang moved the Demon Deacons one win away from the match after defeating Carrie Beckman at third singles (6-2, 7-5) for her first win of the season.
The Fighting Irish would then rattle off four consecutive victories as the Demon Deacons' upset bid came up just short.
The Deacs will now turn their attention to Sunday as they conclude their six-match road stretch against Louisville, with first serve scheduled for noon.
How It Happened
Singles Results
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
Doubles Results
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
From Coach Wyshner
"That's a pretty heart wrenching one to lose. We played a really good doubles point. All three doubles teams showed toughness in their matches, but when it came to the key moments in singles, we just weren't quite good enough today. One of the toughest things as a coach or player is to be on the verge of winning and then just struggling to reach the summit. It really makes you question what you need to do to get that extra 10 percent you need to come away with a win. The good thing is that it's still February and we still have opportunities to find that little bit more we can get from ourselves in order to win some of these close matches in the future." - head coach Jeff Wyshner
Up Next
The Demon Deacons conclude their six-match road trip on Sunday against Louisville. First serve against the Cardinals is currently scheduled for noon.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
The Demon Deacons (10-4, 0-1 ACC) took the early advantage in the match after securing the doubles point for the 13th time this season. Graduate student Anna Zhang and junior Whitley Pate notched their 10th win of the season as a duo at third doubles, defeating Pozder/Molnar, 6-3. After the Fighting Irish came away with a win at first doubles to even the doubles match, junior Nevena Carton and freshman Kady Tannenbaum clinched the point for Wake Forest with a 6-3 victory over Hanford/Matsuno at second doubles.
With Friday's doubles results, the Demon Deacons are now 26-4 in doubles matches this season, including Zhang/Pate continuing their undefeated season with a 10-0 record, and Carton/Tannenbaum improving to 9-2 as a duo.
In singles play, freshman Brianna Baldi extended the Wake Forest lead with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory against Rylie Hanford at sixth singles. Baldi has now eclipsed the double-digit win mark this season following Friday's victory, as the Greensboro, N.C. native improved to 10-2 during her freshman campaign.
Zhang moved the Demon Deacons one win away from the match after defeating Carrie Beckman at third singles (6-2, 7-5) for her first win of the season.
The Fighting Irish would then rattle off four consecutive victories as the Demon Deacons' upset bid came up just short.
The Deacs will now turn their attention to Sunday as they conclude their six-match road stretch against Louisville, with first serve scheduled for noon.
How It Happened
- Zhang/Pate jumped out to an early 3-0 lead at third doubles.
- After falling behind 3-0 to open the match, Carton and Tannenbaum battled back to take a 4-3 lead on court two.
- All three doubles matches finished in quick succession as the Deacs came away with wins on courts two and three to secure the doubles point
- Zhang/Pate picked up a 6-3 win against Pozder/Molnar at third doubles to give the Demon Deacons the advantage.
- Notre Dame picked up a victory at first doubles to even the doubles match.
- Carton/Tannenbaum defeated Hanford/Matsuno at second doubles (6-3) moments later to secure the doubles point.
- Zhang opened singles play with a 6-2 first set victory at court three.
- The Fighting Irish took the first set at court four.
- Baldi added another first set victory for the Deacs with a 6-4 decision on court six.
- Notre Dame took the advantage after the first set on court five.
- The Fighting Irish also took the first set at courts one and two.
- Baldi put together a dominant second set to put the Deacs on the board in singles, defeating Rylie Hanford at sixth singles (6-4, 6-1).
- Zhang notched her first win of the season at third singles as she defeated Carrie Beckman (6-4, 7-5) to put Wake Forest one win away from clinching the match.
- Notre Dame closed the gap to 3-2 following wins at second and fourth singles.
- The Fighting Irish took both first and fifth singles as the Deacs fell 4-3.
Singles Results
- No. 109 Akari Matsuno (Notre Dame) def. Nevena Carton (WF) 7-5, 6-2
- Bojana Pozder (Notre Dame) def. No. 95 Krystal Blanch
- Anna Zhang (WF) def. Carrie Beckman (Notre Dame) 6-2, 7-5
- Bianca Molnar (Notre Dame) def. Whitley Pate 6-3, 7-5
- Nibi Ghosh (Notre Dame) def. Kady Tannenbaum 7-5, 6-3
- Brianna Baldi (WF) def. Rylie Hanford (Notre Dame) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1
Doubles Results
- Beckman/Castedo (Notre Dame) def. No. 75 Blanch/Mills (WF) 6-4
- Carton/Tannenbaum (WF) def. Hanford/Matsuno (Notre Dame) 6-3
- Zhang/Pate (WF) def. Pozder/Molnar (Notre Dame) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
From Coach Wyshner
"That's a pretty heart wrenching one to lose. We played a really good doubles point. All three doubles teams showed toughness in their matches, but when it came to the key moments in singles, we just weren't quite good enough today. One of the toughest things as a coach or player is to be on the verge of winning and then just struggling to reach the summit. It really makes you question what you need to do to get that extra 10 percent you need to come away with a win. The good thing is that it's still February and we still have opportunities to find that little bit more we can get from ourselves in order to win some of these close matches in the future." - head coach Jeff Wyshner
Up Next
The Demon Deacons conclude their six-match road trip on Sunday against Louisville. First serve against the Cardinals is currently scheduled for noon.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
52
Akari Matsuno / 0 (109/-) [ND]
76
#2 Singles Match
12
61
Bojana Pozder / 0 [ND]
76
#3 Singles Match
12
67
Carrie Beckman / 0 [ND]
25
#4 Singles Match
12
35
Bianca Molnar / 0 [ND]
67
#5 Singles Match
12
53
Nibi Ghosh / 0 [ND]
76
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Rylie Hanford / 0 [ND]
41
Order of Finish:
6,3,4,2,5,1
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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