Demon Deacons Fall to Baylor in ITA Quarterfinals

Saturday, February 14

Waco, Texas

4:30 p.m. (ET)

Wake Forest University

(5) Baylor

2/14/2026 9:38:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box Score Watch Live Stats

Wake Forest will play in a consolation match tomorrow against TCU at 12 p.m. (CT) in Waco.

By: Dylan Shackelford

WACO, Texas – The No. 1-seeded Wake Forest men's tennis team dropped its quarterfinal match to hosts Baylor, 4-3, Saturday afternoon inside the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

The Demon Deacons will return to action tomorrow for a consolation match against TCU at 12 p.m. central time.

In doubles, senior DK Suresh Ekambaram and redshirt freshman Andrew Delgado earned a 6-3 victory over Badenhorst/Baierl and improved to 8-2 as a pair since the start of the fall. Suresh picked up his 86th-career doubles victory as he is now two wins away from being tied for seventh in program history.

For the second-consecutive match, junior Luca Pow and sophomore Charlie Robertson clinched the opening point as they defeated van Schalkwyk/Bowden, 6-4, on court three.

A day after clinching the first-round match over UCSB, freshman star Mees Rottgering continued the incredible start to his career with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 99 Alexandru Chirita on court four and extended the lead to 2-0. He is now 6-1 at the collegiate level with two ranked wins.

Extending his team-lead to seven singles wins this season, sophomore Joaquin Guilleme returned to his dominant form and took down Calvin Baierl in sixth singles, 6-3, 7-5. He is now an incredible 16-1 overall in collegiate dual matches.

The Bears claimed courts one, two, three and five to earn the win.

How It Happened

The doubles point remained even through the first six games on all three courts, until the Demon Deacons broke on courts one and three.
- The Bears took a 5-3 advantage on two.
Wake Forest closed out the opening point for the second-consecutive match as Suresh/Delgado (6-3) and Pow/Robertson (6-4) closed it out.
In singles, Robertson jumped out to a massive lead on court five and was the first player to take a set, 6-1.
- Suresh (6-3), Rottgering (6-4) and Guilleme (6-4) shortly followed as the Bears claimed the first sets on two and three.
The Dutchman on court four extended Wake Forest's lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win.
Baylor answered quickly, picking up victories on courts three and two to even the match score at 2-2.
Guilleme restored the Demon Deacons' lead with a strong performance on court six, earning a 6-3, 7-5 win over Bowden to make it 3-2 Wake Forest.
The match ultimately came down to the final two courts, where both Suresh and Robertson battled into third sets.
- Baylor claimed court five in a tightly contested three-set match before securing the decisive point on court one in a third-set tiebreak to clinch the 4-3 victory.

Singles Results
1. #17 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. #21 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
2. #106 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Aryan Shah (WFU) 6-3, 7-6(3)
3. #41 Connor van Schalkwyk def. #14 Luca Pow (WFU) 6-4, 6-4
4. #102 Mees Rottgering (WFU) def. #99 Alexandru Chirita (BU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Charlie Robertson (WFU) 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(3)
6. #89 Joaquin Guilleme (WFU) def. Louis Bowden (BU) 6-3, 7-5

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

Doubles Results
1. #3 Delgado/Suresh (WFU) def. Badenhorst/Baierl (BU) 6-3
2. Chirita/Velcz (BU) def. Szymkowiak/Shah (WFU) 6-3
3. Pow/Robertson (WFU) def. van Schalkwyk/Bowden (BU) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3

From Coach Bresky
"Credit to Baylor, they competed extremely well, especially in the big moments. We had opportunities, but they executed when it mattered most. This was a great match between two high-level teams, and we'll regroup and be ready for tomorrow against TCU." - Head coach Tony Bresky

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