Women’s Tennis Earns Hard-Fought Win Against Memphis

Thursday, February 12

Winston-Salem, N.C.

5 P.M.

Wake Forest University

Memphis

Photo by: Bryce Mitchell / Wake Forest Athletics

Women’s Tennis Earns Hard-Fought Win Against Memphis

2/12/2026 9:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

At 4-0, the Demon Deacons are off to their best home start in seven years

By: Joseph Baker

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest defeated the Memphis Tigers 6-1 to improve to 4-0 at home for the first time since 2018-19. This win puts the Demon Deacons back above .500 on the year as they prepare for a 5-1 Liberty team on Saturday, February 14.

The Deacs won a thrilling doubles session to grab an early lead. Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder never trailed, cruising to a 6-3 win over Memphis' Natalia Koppova and Rebecca Frant. After the Tigers evened it up with a win on court two, the doubles point came down to the Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum - Sofiia Mykhailets/Emma Dvorackova match on court one. After trailing 4-2 early, the Deacs' top duo came back to even the score at six and force a tiebreaker. Carton and Tannenbaum came up clutch in the tiebreaker, winning 7-5, to clinch the first point of the day and swing the momentum the way of Wake Forest.

Sankavi Gownder won the first singles match of the day, making quick work of Clemence Thouard to put the Deacs up 2-0. The win was Gownder's fifth of the season, as she improved her winning percentage to an impressive .833 mark. The other singles matches were more closely contested. Tannenbaum, Bulger, Nisbet, Oxford and Carton all took their opponents to the third and deciding set.

Tannenbaum and Bulger both battled to wins after dropping the first set, giving the Deacs a 4-0 lead and clinching the win. Oxford followed with a win of her own, tying Gownder for the most singles wins on the team this year with five.

Aubrey Nisbet looked strong as she picked up her first singles victory of the season, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. She made it 6-0 in favor of Wake Forest with just one match to play. Carton would go on to lose a thrilling third-set tiebreaker to Mykhailets as the Deacs fell one point short of a sweep.

Wake Forest will host the Liberty Flames on Saturday.

Doubles Results

Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. Sofiia Mykhailets/Emma Dvorackova (MEM), 7-6 (7-5)
Evie Oxford/Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Natalia Koppova/Rebecca Frant (MEM), 6-3
Clemence Thouard/Alicia Mall (MEM) def. Heidi Bulger/Aubrey Nisbet (WFU), 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles Results

Sofiia Mykhailets (MEM) def. Nevena Carton (WFU), 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)
Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. Alicia Mall (MEM), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Heidi Bulger (WFU) def. Natalia Koppova (MEM), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
Evie Oxford (WFU) def. Emma Dvorackova (MEM), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Clemence Thouard (MEM), 6-1, 6-2
Aubrey Nisbet (WFU) def. Rebecca Frant (MEM), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 6, 4, 1

How it Happened

Carton and Tannenbaum fought out of a 4-2 hole to level their match at four apiece.
Oxford and Gownder picked up the first doubles victory of the match, winning 6-3
Bulger and Nisbet fell, 6-3.
In the deciding doubles match, Carton and Tannenbaum played Mykhailets and Dvorackova to a 6-6 stalemate, leading to a tiebreaker.
- Carton and Tannenbaum won the tiebreak, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point for Wake Forest.
Gownder won the first game of the singles session, 6-1, over Clemence Thouard.
- Oxford and Gownder followed suit shortly after.
Gownder won, 6-1, 6-2, to put the Deacs up two.
Both Tannenbaum and Bulger lost their first set, but responded to win the final two sets.
- Wake Forest clinched the match, 4-0.
Aubrey Nisbet got her first singles win of the season
Evie Oxford continued to shine, as she picked up the fifth win of her rookie season.
Carton fell in a third-set tiebreaker to Mykhailets.
- Final score: Wake Forest 6-1 Memphis

From Coach Wyshner
"Really proud of the group today! Memphis competed the same way we talk about [competing]... making nine hard-fought matches. With both teams doing so, give a lot of credit to our group for pulling out a great doubles point in a tiebreaker, and then playing five three-setters! It was an important win for us, being down to just six players. Now, we get to transition to playing outdoors tomorrow and get ready for Liberty on Saturday! Go Deacs!

Up Next
Conference USA's Liberty will make the trip down to Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons have never lost to Liberty; they hold a 4-0 all-time record against the Flames. Last season, the Deacs won, 6-1, in Lynchburg. Carton, Tannenbaum and Gownder all picked up singles victories in that match.