Friday, May 16
Waco, Texas
11 a.m. (ET)
Wake Forest University
4
vs
1
(8) Columbia
Wake Forest Advances to Second-Consecutive National Semifinal
5/16/2025 3:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Demon Deacons defeated Columbia, 4-1, Friday in Waco.
WACO, Texas – In a match that saw all six singles courts enter a third set and lasted over three and a half hours, the top-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team has booked its spot in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships following a 4-1 victory over No. 8-seed Columbia Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
With the win, the Demon Deacons (38-1) are now one of just three schools to reach four national semifinals since 2018, along with Ohio State and Texas. Additionally, only two other schools (TCU and Texas) have a chance to make back-to-back semifinals depending on Friday's results.
Wake Forest also extended its program record for most wins in a single campaign and has a chance to reach the all-time ACC record with wins on Saturday and Sunday.
A win over the ninth-ranked Lions (ITA Poll) marked the 22nd ranked victory for the Demon Deacons and eighth over a top-10 opponent, both having already set program records. Of note, this was the second win over Columbia this season for Wake Forest, following the team's 5-2 win in New York on Feb. 8.
The Deacs will now await the winner of No. 4-seeded Stanford and No. 12-seeded Mississippi State. The semifinal match is slated for 5 p.m. eastern time and will once again be streamed on ESPN+ with live results available via IOnCourt.
Wake Forest opened Friday's match by claiming its 36th doubles point in 39 matches with wins on courts one and three.
Playing together for just the second time since January, junior DK Suresh Ekambaram and graduate student Ioannis Xilas moved to 3-0 as a pairing this campaign with a 6-3 victory over No. 37 Zheng/Kotzen on court one. With his ace to seal the win, Suresh earned his team-high 28th doubles win this season and his 14th over a ranked opponent.
In a tightly-contested match that lasted nearly an hour on court three, the unstoppable pair of sophomore Luca Pow and senior Luciano Tacchi defeated Hashimoto/Templeman in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5). The All-Americans are now 16-4 as a team this spring and entered the tournament ranked as the No. 18-ranked duo. Over the last two years, they are 36-10 in match play and have played a major role in the Deacs' doubles dominance.
The Deacs then carried the momentum over to singles where they claimed courts one, four and six to book their ticket to the semifinals.
Avenging his loss from the first meeting in February, graduate student Stefan Dostanic got the best of No. 2 Michael Zheng when it mattered most as he earned an incredible 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory on court one. Dostanic, currently ranked No. 13 nationally, is now 11-3 overall in a Wake Forest uniform with nine of his 11 wins coming against ranked opponents. Additionally, the Irvine, Calif.-native is 3-0 in the NCAA tournament following his Friday victory over the reigning NCAA singles Champion .
Overall this season, Wake Forest has recorded a 27-6 (.818) record on the first singles court and has dropped it just once in the last 13 matches.
In a surprise to nobody, Pow followed up his doubles victory and picked up a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Thanaphat Boosarawongse on court six. Pow leads the team with a stellar 29 singles wins this season and holds an incredible 56-5 mark over his two-year career with the Demon Deacons. He can become the first Wake Forest player to reach the 30-win mark since Petros Chrysochos in 2018 with a win on Saturday.
Continuing to establish himself as one of the most dominant and composed freshmen in the country, Charlie Robertson secured a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1 win over No. 81 Hugo Hashimoto on court four to clinch the match for the Deacs.
This brought Robertson's record to 12-7 on the year, including a 9-1 mark since the start of ACC play (Feb. 28). Of note, this was his second ranked victory of the season and the first since his clinching win over No. 46 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) in his second-ever collegiate match on Feb. 2.
Friday's results moved Wake Forest to an unprecedented 75-20 combined record in doubles and 131-38 in singles.
Stay tuned Wake Forest men's tennis social accounts as well as GoDeacs.com throughout the day for more information regarding tomorrow's match.
NCAA Championships Schedule/Results (All Times Eastern)
1. No. 13 Stefan Dostanic (WFU) def. No. 2 Michael Zheng (CU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 52 Nicolas Kotzen (CU) def. No. 9 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 123 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) vs. Max Westphal (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 2-5, unfinished
4. Charlie Robertson (WFU) def. No. 81 Hugo Hashimoto (CU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) vs. Sachin Palta (CU) 3-6, 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
6. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 4
Doubles Results
1. No. 53 Suresh/Xilas (WFU) def. No. 37 Zheng/Kotzen (CU) 6-3
2. No. 86 Westphal/Palta (CU) def. No. 26 Dostanic/Robertson (WFU) 6-3
3. No. 18 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) def. Hashimoto/Templeman (CU)7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
From Coach Bresky
"I saw a lot of great toughness and fight. We obviously have a ton of respect for Colombia, their program and their coaches. They do a great job. We played them earlier this year and it was honestly a pretty similar match, just a lot of three-setters. The thing you get when you play them is that you know they're going to keep fighting, they're not going to give in and I feel the same about our guys. We're going to fight and we're not going to give in.
We're obviously happy to get through it and happy to get the morning match. It started getting fairly warm there at the end, so I feel very fortunate. We'll get to recover and be ready to go tomorrow."
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will take on the winner of (4) Stanford and (12) Mississippi State tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. eastern.
Follow the Deacs:
GoDeacs.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
With the win, the Demon Deacons (38-1) are now one of just three schools to reach four national semifinals since 2018, along with Ohio State and Texas. Additionally, only two other schools (TCU and Texas) have a chance to make back-to-back semifinals depending on Friday's results.
Wake Forest also extended its program record for most wins in a single campaign and has a chance to reach the all-time ACC record with wins on Saturday and Sunday.
A win over the ninth-ranked Lions (ITA Poll) marked the 22nd ranked victory for the Demon Deacons and eighth over a top-10 opponent, both having already set program records. Of note, this was the second win over Columbia this season for Wake Forest, following the team's 5-2 win in New York on Feb. 8.
The Deacs will now await the winner of No. 4-seeded Stanford and No. 12-seeded Mississippi State. The semifinal match is slated for 5 p.m. eastern time and will once again be streamed on ESPN+ with live results available via IOnCourt.
Wake Forest opened Friday's match by claiming its 36th doubles point in 39 matches with wins on courts one and three.
Playing together for just the second time since January, junior DK Suresh Ekambaram and graduate student Ioannis Xilas moved to 3-0 as a pairing this campaign with a 6-3 victory over No. 37 Zheng/Kotzen on court one. With his ace to seal the win, Suresh earned his team-high 28th doubles win this season and his 14th over a ranked opponent.
In a tightly-contested match that lasted nearly an hour on court three, the unstoppable pair of sophomore Luca Pow and senior Luciano Tacchi defeated Hashimoto/Templeman in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5). The All-Americans are now 16-4 as a team this spring and entered the tournament ranked as the No. 18-ranked duo. Over the last two years, they are 36-10 in match play and have played a major role in the Deacs' doubles dominance.
The Deacs then carried the momentum over to singles where they claimed courts one, four and six to book their ticket to the semifinals.
Avenging his loss from the first meeting in February, graduate student Stefan Dostanic got the best of No. 2 Michael Zheng when it mattered most as he earned an incredible 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory on court one. Dostanic, currently ranked No. 13 nationally, is now 11-3 overall in a Wake Forest uniform with nine of his 11 wins coming against ranked opponents. Additionally, the Irvine, Calif.-native is 3-0 in the NCAA tournament following his Friday victory over the reigning NCAA singles Champion .
Overall this season, Wake Forest has recorded a 27-6 (.818) record on the first singles court and has dropped it just once in the last 13 matches.
In a surprise to nobody, Pow followed up his doubles victory and picked up a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over Thanaphat Boosarawongse on court six. Pow leads the team with a stellar 29 singles wins this season and holds an incredible 56-5 mark over his two-year career with the Demon Deacons. He can become the first Wake Forest player to reach the 30-win mark since Petros Chrysochos in 2018 with a win on Saturday.
Continuing to establish himself as one of the most dominant and composed freshmen in the country, Charlie Robertson secured a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1 win over No. 81 Hugo Hashimoto on court four to clinch the match for the Deacs.
This brought Robertson's record to 12-7 on the year, including a 9-1 mark since the start of ACC play (Feb. 28). Of note, this was his second ranked victory of the season and the first since his clinching win over No. 46 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) in his second-ever collegiate match on Feb. 2.
Friday's results moved Wake Forest to an unprecedented 75-20 combined record in doubles and 131-38 in singles.
Stay tuned Wake Forest men's tennis social accounts as well as GoDeacs.com throughout the day for more information regarding tomorrow's match.
NCAA Championships Schedule/Results (All Times Eastern)
- Friday - Quarterfinals (May 16)
- (1) Wake Forest def. (8) Columbia, 4-1
- 2 p.m. - (4) Stanford vs. (12) Mississippi State
- 5 p.m. - (2) TCU vs. (7) Virginia
- 8 p.m. - (3) Texas vs. UCLA
- Saturday - Semifinals (May 17)
- 5 p.m. - (1) Wake Forest vs. (4) Stanford/(12) Mississippi State
- 8 p.m. - TBD
- Sunday - Championship (May 18)
- 8 p.m. - TBD
- NCAA Championships (1)
- 2018
- Final Appearances (2)
- 2018, 2019
- Semifinal Appearances (4)
- 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025
- NCAA Elite Eight Appearances (5)
- 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025
- NCAA Round of 16 Appearances (8)
- 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025
- NCAA Tournament Appearances (24)
- 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Columbia earned the first break in doubles on court two, while the other two courts remained on serve 10 minutes in.
- Wake Forest immediately responded with breaks on courts one (4-2) and three (3-1) as the Deacs took control of doubles.
- The Demon Deacons took care of business on court one in just 25 minutes as Suresh/Xilas took down No. 37 Zheng/Kotzen, 6-3.
- Columbia still held a break on two while Pow/Tacchi were back on serve on three.
- The Lions claimed court two as the electric doubles point came down to a tiebreak between Tacchi/Pow and Hashimoto/Templeman.
- The Wake Forest pair secured the clutch, 7-6 (7-5) victory and went up 1-0 headed into singles.
- In singles, Xilas (court three) and Pow (court six) went up breaks early on and set the tone for the match.
- On courts two and four, Suresh and Robertson were even 20 minutes in while the Lions held advantages on one and five.
- Moments after Columbia took the first set on court one, Pow responded with a 6-3 set victory of his own.
- The two sides once again traded first sets as Xilas took his (6-3) right after the Lions went up on five.
- Suresh dominated his tiebreak (7-0) and was the third Wake Forest player to take a set.
- Despite being down a break at 3-4, Robertson battled back and forced a tiebreak and secured the set 7-6 (7-5).
- Dostanic forced a third set (2-6, 6-3) while Xilas and Tacchi held break advantages in their respective second sets.
- Suresh, Pow, Tacchi and Xilas all went into third sets within minutes of each other.
- In his third set, Pow jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
- Wake Forest doubled its lead as Dostanic battled back to an enormous 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 2 Zheng.
- Following a dominant third set, Pow made it 3-0 to the Deacs with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 over Thanaphat Boosarawongse.
- The Lions got one back with a win on court two.
- Robertson defeated No. 81 Hashimoto (7-6 [7-5], 3-6, 6-1) three and a half hours after the start of the match and clinched the 4-1 victory for Wake Forest.
- Courts three and five went unfinished with Tacchi only a game away from clinching the match himself.
1. No. 13 Stefan Dostanic (WFU) def. No. 2 Michael Zheng (CU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 52 Nicolas Kotzen (CU) def. No. 9 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 6-3
3. No. 123 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) vs. Max Westphal (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 2-5, unfinished
4. Charlie Robertson (WFU) def. No. 81 Hugo Hashimoto (CU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1
5. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) vs. Sachin Palta (CU) 3-6, 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
6. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Thanaphat Boosarawongse (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 4
Doubles Results
1. No. 53 Suresh/Xilas (WFU) def. No. 37 Zheng/Kotzen (CU) 6-3
2. No. 86 Westphal/Palta (CU) def. No. 26 Dostanic/Robertson (WFU) 6-3
3. No. 18 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) def. Hashimoto/Templeman (CU)7-6 (7-5)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
From Coach Bresky
"I saw a lot of great toughness and fight. We obviously have a ton of respect for Colombia, their program and their coaches. They do a great job. We played them earlier this year and it was honestly a pretty similar match, just a lot of three-setters. The thing you get when you play them is that you know they're going to keep fighting, they're not going to give in and I feel the same about our guys. We're going to fight and we're not going to give in.
We're obviously happy to get through it and happy to get the morning match. It started getting fairly warm there at the end, so I feel very fortunate. We'll get to recover and be ready to go tomorrow."
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will take on the winner of (4) Stanford and (12) Mississippi State tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. eastern.
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
Michael Zheng / 0 (2/-) [COL]
634
266
#2 Singles Match
123
Nicolas Kotzen / 0 (52/-) [COL]
666
723
#3 Singles Match
1234
Max Westphal / 0 [COL]
365UF
642UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Hugo Hashimoto / 0 (81/-) [COL]
61
76
#5 Singles Match
1234
Sachin Palta / 0 [COL]
634UF
365UF
#6 Singles Match
123
T. Boosarawongse / 0 [COL]
361
646
Order of Finish:
1,6,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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