Friday, September 12
Greenville, S.C.
Wake Forest University
at
Debbie Southern Fall Classic
Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Wake Forest to Begin Fall Play in 38th Annual Debbie Southern Classic
9/11/2025 11:15:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis will compete out of state in Greenville this weekend.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's tennis team opens its 2025 fall season this weekend, heading out of state for competition in Furman University's 38th annual Debbie Southern Fall Classic (Sept. 12-14). Play will start on Friday morning and run through Sunday afternoon. The Demon Deacons join a group of 11 programs competing throughout the weekend.
Wake Forest steps into the event for an eighth straight year.
Field of Teams
The tournament will be composed of singles and doubles matches, featuring compass draws of eight:
Saturday, Sept. 13 – one round of doubles followed by one round of singles
Sunday, Sept. 14 – one round of singles
A Year Ago
Wake Forest participated in this same event last year during fall 2024, recording 12 wins on the weekend.
In her first-ever collegiate showing, Kady Tannenbaum impressed in securing first place in her singles bracket. She earned a straight set win in the finals against Furman's Macy Hitchcock (6-4, 6-4).
Tannenbaum also advanced to the championship match in her doubles bracket, as she and junior Nevena Carton placed second after breezing through the first two rounds against Furman's Jess Dawson/Grace Thomas (6-2) and South Carolina's Olympe Lancelot/Jana Stojanova (7-5), before falling to Jermine Sherif/Andreea Lila of Texas Tech in the final.
Opening-round victories were also secured by sophomore Sankavi Gardner and redshirt sophomore Krystal Blanch, as well as consolation round wins by junior Whitley Pate and graduate student Makayla Mills.
2025-26 Women's Tennis Overview
Wake Forest enters its 16th year with head coach Jeff Wyshner at the helm this fall, returning seven players on its roster. A senior trio of Nevena Carton, Jingyi Li and Whitley Pate headlines the squad, as each of the three have been regular contributors since their freshman seasons. Carton and Pate were top-three leaders on the team in singles wins this past spring, totaling 13 and 11, respectively.
Redshirt junior Krystal Blanch enjoyed a strong second playing season in spring 2025, appearing in 23 matches and recording eight solo victories during dual match play. Another pair of juniors in the form of Sankavi Gownder and Aubrey Nisbet also step back into the mix. Gownder finished fourth on the roster in singles wins (10) this past spring while Nisbet made a return to the court after redshirting her freshman year.
Kady Tannenbaum is the team's lone returning sophomore, coming off a strong debut season. The Commack, N.Y., native ranked second on the roster in both singles (12) and doubles (13) wins for the spring. Additionally, Tannenbaum secured the team lead for combined solo wins across the fall and spring (18).
Wake Forest has added a pair of newcomers in sophomore transfer Heidi Bulger and freshman Evie Oxford. Coming from Elon University, Bulger had an exceptional first season of collegiate tennis, being named the 2025 CAA Rookie of the Year and All-CAA second team in singles after going 18-4 for the spring. Oxford was a top-10 national recruit in high school and ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Texas. The Blue Chip recruit earned a career-high juniors ranking of No. 409 by the ITA.
This past spring, the Deacs matched a program record for the most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, earning their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament berth. Coach Wyshner etched his name into the program records, as he became the all-time winningest head coach in Wake Forest history after earning his 192nd victory with the Demon Deacons following a 7-0 shutout against Elon on Jan. 26. Ending the season with a 15-14 record, Wake Forest has now won 15-plus matches in each of the last four spring seasons.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Wake Forest steps into the event for an eighth straight year.
Field of Teams
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Furman
- Georgia Tech
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Mississippi State
- Penn State
- South Carolina
- Texas Tech
- Wake Forest
The tournament will be composed of singles and doubles matches, featuring compass draws of eight:
- Doubles – 2 out of 3 sets, no ad scoring (tiebreaker at 7-7)
- Singles – 2 out of 3 sets, no ad scoring
Saturday, Sept. 13 – one round of doubles followed by one round of singles
Sunday, Sept. 14 – one round of singles
A Year Ago
Wake Forest participated in this same event last year during fall 2024, recording 12 wins on the weekend.
In her first-ever collegiate showing, Kady Tannenbaum impressed in securing first place in her singles bracket. She earned a straight set win in the finals against Furman's Macy Hitchcock (6-4, 6-4).
Tannenbaum also advanced to the championship match in her doubles bracket, as she and junior Nevena Carton placed second after breezing through the first two rounds against Furman's Jess Dawson/Grace Thomas (6-2) and South Carolina's Olympe Lancelot/Jana Stojanova (7-5), before falling to Jermine Sherif/Andreea Lila of Texas Tech in the final.
Opening-round victories were also secured by sophomore Sankavi Gardner and redshirt sophomore Krystal Blanch, as well as consolation round wins by junior Whitley Pate and graduate student Makayla Mills.
2025-26 Women's Tennis Overview
Wake Forest enters its 16th year with head coach Jeff Wyshner at the helm this fall, returning seven players on its roster. A senior trio of Nevena Carton, Jingyi Li and Whitley Pate headlines the squad, as each of the three have been regular contributors since their freshman seasons. Carton and Pate were top-three leaders on the team in singles wins this past spring, totaling 13 and 11, respectively.
Redshirt junior Krystal Blanch enjoyed a strong second playing season in spring 2025, appearing in 23 matches and recording eight solo victories during dual match play. Another pair of juniors in the form of Sankavi Gownder and Aubrey Nisbet also step back into the mix. Gownder finished fourth on the roster in singles wins (10) this past spring while Nisbet made a return to the court after redshirting her freshman year.
Kady Tannenbaum is the team's lone returning sophomore, coming off a strong debut season. The Commack, N.Y., native ranked second on the roster in both singles (12) and doubles (13) wins for the spring. Additionally, Tannenbaum secured the team lead for combined solo wins across the fall and spring (18).
Wake Forest has added a pair of newcomers in sophomore transfer Heidi Bulger and freshman Evie Oxford. Coming from Elon University, Bulger had an exceptional first season of collegiate tennis, being named the 2025 CAA Rookie of the Year and All-CAA second team in singles after going 18-4 for the spring. Oxford was a top-10 national recruit in high school and ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Texas. The Blue Chip recruit earned a career-high juniors ranking of No. 409 by the ITA.
This past spring, the Deacs matched a program record for the most consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, earning their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament berth. Coach Wyshner etched his name into the program records, as he became the all-time winningest head coach in Wake Forest history after earning his 192nd victory with the Demon Deacons following a 7-0 shutout against Elon on Jan. 26. Ending the season with a 15-14 record, Wake Forest has now won 15-plus matches in each of the last four spring seasons.
Follow the Deacs
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | GoDeacs.com
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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