Wake Forest University
ETSU
Wake Forest Defeats ETSU 5-2 in its Home Opener
1/19/2026 5:02:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Demon Deacons' upperclassmen were dominant, earning Wake Forest its first win of the season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest (1-1, 0-0 ACC) defeated ETSU (1-2, 0-0 SoCon) in a 5-2 victory on Monday afternoon, earning its first victory of the spring season. With the win, the Deacs improved to 4-0 all-time against the reigning SoCon champs, as the Deacs beat the Bucs last year, 7-0.
The doubles session came down to the wire after the Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum duo won their match while ETSU earned a win on court two. It was Krystal Blanch and Evie Oxford who came through in the clutch, defeating Juila Millan and Ksenija Rage of ETSU, 6-2, to win the doubles session and earn the first point of the day for the Deacs.
The Demon Deacons got out to a flying start in singles. Nevena Carton breezed through her match, winning 12 of the 14 games she played. She earned her 93rd and 94th career victories with her doubles and singles wins today.
After a Krystal Blanch win pushed the Wake Forest lead to three, Sankavi Gownder won her singles match to improve to 2-0 on the season in singles. She beat Mariangela Estrella in straight sets to clinch the match for the Deacs, 4-0.
ETSU got on the board with a win in fourth singles.
Evie Oxford picked up her first career duel-match victory in a thriller against Niyati Kukreti. After Oxford won the last few games to clinch set one, Kukreti responded and won set two. Oxford was able to win the first-to-ten tiebreaker in set three, and clinched Wake Forest's fifth point.
Carton, Blanch and Gownder combined to go a perfect 3-0 in singles matches. This weekend's match (Jan. 24) will take place on the road at Furman. The Deacs have held an upper hand in series history, as Wake Forest is 31-1 against the Paladins all-time and has won five straight against the SoCon foe.
After the upcoming road test, Wake Forest will return home to play seven out of eight in Winston-Salem before conference play gets going. The Deacs finished last year's non-conference slate 12-5 and will look to improve on that mark in the coming weeks.
Doubles Results
- Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. Alessandra Caceres/Mariangel Estrella (ETSU) 6-0
- Krystal Blanch/Evie Oxford (WFU) def. Julia Millan/Ksenija Rage (ETSU) 6-2
- Niyati Kukreti/Audelie Lesauvage (ETSU) def. Jingyi Li/Aubrey Nisbet (WFU) 6-1
Singles Results
- Krystal Blanch (WFU) def. Ksenija Rage (ETSU) 6-3, 6-1
- Nevena Carton (WFU) def. Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) 6-1, 6-1
- Julia Millan (ETSU) def. Heidi Bulger (WFU) 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-5)
- Audelie Lesauvage (ETSU) def. Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) 6-4, 6-2
- Evie Oxford (WFU) def. Niyati Kukreti (ETSU) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4)
- Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Mariangel Estrella (ETSU) 6-2, 6-2
How it Happened
- The dominant duo of Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum cruised in their doubles match, giving Wake Forest the early advantage.
- ETSU responded with a win on court No. 3, making the Blanch/Oxford vs. Millan/Rage match the decider.
- Krystal Blanch and Evie Oxford stepped on the gas late, closing out Julia Millan and Ksenija Rage 6-2 to secure the doubles point for the Deacs.
- Five of the Demon Deacons' six players won their first set, putting Wake Forest in a great position to earn the win.
- Nevena Carton cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory to win the first singles match of the day.
- Krystal Blanch and Sankavi Gownder followed suit, earning straight-set victories to earn Wake the win on the day.
- Heidi Bulger persevered through a marathon first set, taking the advantage over Julia Millan 7-6 (7-3).
- ETSU picked up its first point of the day, making the score 4-1 in favor of the Deacs.
- Freshman Evie Oxford won her first career duel match to push the lead to 5-1.
- ETSU's Julia Millan took her court in third singles, defeating Bulger in the third set.
From Coach Wyshner
"It was a good, solid win today. ETSU played well throughout. I was really happy with how our doubles came out and set the tone and got that point... then in singles, Krystal, Nevena and Sankavi all went out and played really well from the start. I loved seeing that from our juniors and seniors -- then we battled through the other ones. Good to get our first win, and we have a tough one this Saturday on the road."
Up Next
Wake Forest will head to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on the Furman Paladins this Saturday, Jan. 25. The Deacs are 31-1 all-time against Furman and have beaten the Paladins in each of the last five seasons. Last year's result was a 4-1 win in Winston-Salem.
First serve is set for 11 a.m
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,6,4,5
Players Mentioned
