Saturday, January 17
Knoxville, Tenn.
11 A.M.
Wake Forest University
1
at
6
Tennessee
Photo by: Helen McGinnis / Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Falls to No. 16 Tennessee 6-1; Gownder Notches Second Ranked Win
1/17/2026 2:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Demon Deacons opened the season in Knoxville on Saturday.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The Demon Deacons fell short of No. 16 Tennessee on the road to open the season, losing 6-1. The Lady Vols took the doubles point before picking up the first three singles sessions to lock up the victory.
Sankavi Gownder was the lone Deac to win a match, taking down No. 82 Elim Yan 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. It was Gownder's second ranked win of her career. Gownder finished with a perfect record on the day after not playing in the doubles session.
Krystal Blanch fought hard against No. 26 Leyla Britez-Risso, but ultimately fell in straight sets 2-6, 5-7. Fellow returnees Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum also fell in their singles sessions.
Sophomore Heidi Bulger played her first spring match in Old Gold and Black, falling in her singles match after not participating in doubles.
Freshman Evie Oxford showed flashes in her Wake Forest debut. The freshman won the second set of her singles match before falling in the third, 0-1(5-10) to wrap up the day's action.
The Demon Deacons will return home to take on the ETSU Buccaneers on Monday, January 19.
Doubles Results:
Singles Results:
How it Happened:
Quote from Coach Wyshner:
"Bit of a typical spring opener today. We did some good things and we competed well but we weren't sharp enough to come into a top-20 team's home court and be more successful than we were. Good to see Sankavi get out there and get the win, and our two new players, Heidi and Evie, both played well. We'll get home, practice tomorrow and then hope to see some fans out for our home opener on Monday at noon."
Up Next:
Wake Forest will host ETSU on Monday, January 19 at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.
First serve: 12 p.m. Admission is free for all spectators.
Sankavi Gownder was the lone Deac to win a match, taking down No. 82 Elim Yan 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. It was Gownder's second ranked win of her career. Gownder finished with a perfect record on the day after not playing in the doubles session.
Krystal Blanch fought hard against No. 26 Leyla Britez-Risso, but ultimately fell in straight sets 2-6, 5-7. Fellow returnees Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum also fell in their singles sessions.
Sophomore Heidi Bulger played her first spring match in Old Gold and Black, falling in her singles match after not participating in doubles.
Freshman Evie Oxford showed flashes in her Wake Forest debut. The freshman won the second set of her singles match before falling in the third, 0-1(5-10) to wrap up the day's action.
The Demon Deacons will return home to take on the ETSU Buccaneers on Monday, January 19.
Doubles Results:
- No. 15 Catherine Aulia/Leyla Britez-Risso (TENN) def. Krystal Blanch/Jingyi Li (WFU), 1-6
- Francesca Mattoli/Vanesa Suarez (TENN) vs. Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU), 3-4, unfinished
- Maeve Thornton/Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) def. Aubrey Nisbet/Evie Oxford (WFU), 1-6
Singles Results:
- Vanesa Suarez (TENN) def. Nevena Carton (WFU), 2-6, 5-7
- No. 26 Leyla Britez-Rizzo (TENN) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU), 1-6, 2-6
- Catherine Aulia (TENN) def. Heidi Bulger (WFU), 4-6, 3-6
- Francesca Mattioli (TENN) def. Kady Tannenbaum (WFU), 1-6, 2-6
- Saray Yli-Piipari (TENN) def. Evie Oxford (WFU), 4-6, 6-4, 0-1 (5-10)
- Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. No. 82 Elim Yan (TENN), 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
How it Happened:
- Tennessee looked strong throughout the doubles session, dropping the Deacs on courts one and three to open the day.
- Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum competed in a close, back-and-forth doubles match before it ended unfinished.
- Sankavi Gownder won the first set of the season for the Deacs, defeating Yan 6-2.
- Freshman Evie Oxford got off to a red-hot start, taking a 4-0 lead against Yli-Piipari.
- She would fall, 4-6, but bounced back to win the second set 6-4.
- Tennessee's Suarez, Mattioli, Britez-Risso and Aulia would all win in straight sets to decide the match.
- Tennessee took a 5-0 lead.
- Gownder picked up her second career ranked victory, defeating No. 82 Yan, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
- This marked the first singles win of the spring season for the Deacs.
- Oxford ultimately fell in the deciding third set 0-1 (5-10) after winning the second.
Quote from Coach Wyshner:
"Bit of a typical spring opener today. We did some good things and we competed well but we weren't sharp enough to come into a top-20 team's home court and be more successful than we were. Good to see Sankavi get out there and get the win, and our two new players, Heidi and Evie, both played well. We'll get home, practice tomorrow and then hope to see some fans out for our home opener on Monday at noon."
Up Next:
Wake Forest will host ETSU on Monday, January 19 at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.
First serve: 12 p.m. Admission is free for all spectators.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
1
Krystal Blanch/ Jingyi Li [WFU]
1
6
#2 Doubles Match
12
Nevena Carton/ Kady Tannenbaum [WFU]
30
4UF
#3 Doubles Match
1
Aubrey Nisbet/ Evie Oxford [WFU]
1
6
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Nevena Carton / 0 [WFU]
25
67
#2 Singles Match
12
Krystal Blanch / 0 [WFU]
12
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Heidi Bulger / 0 [WFU]
43
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Kady Tannenbaum / 0 [WFU]
12
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Evie Oxford / 0 [WFU]
460
641
#6 Singles Match
123
Sankavi Gownder / 0 [WFU]
616
261
Order of Finish:
1,4,3,2,6
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
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