Women’s Tennis Heads North to Visit Old Dominion

Saturday, February 7

Norfolk, Va.

12 P.M.

Wake Forest University

Old Dominion

Photo by: Bryce Mitchell / Wake Forest Athletics

2/6/2026 11:20:00 AM | Women's Tennis

The Deacs will look to earn a victory over the Monarchs for the third straight year.

By: Joseph Baker

NORFOLK, Va. – Wake Forest women's tennis is hitting the road once again, this time to do battle with the Monarchs of Old Dominion (0-2). The Demon Deacons (3-2) are fresh off a doubleheader sweep of Marshall and UNC Greensboro (Jan. 30), and will look to keep that momentum going in Norfolk. First serve is set for noon on Saturday.

The Deacs defeated Old Dominion in Winston-Salem last season by a score of 4-2. Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum both had huge days, winning their doubles match as a pair and then winning their respective singles matches in straight sets. Wake Forest also was victorious the last time the team traveled to Norfolk, defeating the Monarchs, 4-1, on Feb. 3, 2024. Old Dominion is still searching for its first win of the season after dropping its first two matches to Maryland and Penn State, both by a score of 4-3.

Wake Forest will be looking to pick up its first road win of the season during Saturday afternoon. Kady Tannenbaum, who is building off a brilliant freshman campaign, looked strong this past Friday as she picked up her first singles win of the season. Freshman Evie Oxford also had a strong day, winning her matches in both sessions. Additionally, senior Jingyi Li made her singles debut and picked up her first victory of the season during the sweep over UNC Greensboro.

For the third time this season, the Deacs will be facing a roster that features that features Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranked players (at Tennessee, at Furman). The Monarchs feature two ranked singles players and two ranked doubles pairings. Saturday will also be the last time the Demon Deacons play a match away from Winston-Salem until February 27, when they will head out west to take on Stanford. Until then, Wake Forest is set to have five consecutive non-conference matches at home before ACC play gets underway.

Still Perfect
Sankavi Gownder is now 4-0 in singles this season after picking up two more victories in the doubleheader. She defeated Kayley Bushnell (6-0, 6-0) on Friday night to record the Deacs' first straight-set sweep of the season. Gownder has only dropped one set all season, winning eight of the nine she's played. Additionally, she is the only Deac with a nationally ranked win so far this season.

Top-10 Class
Wake Forest has officially landed a top-10 recruiting class, coming in at No. 9 nationally according to Tennis Recruiting Network. The Deacs' class ranked third in the ACC and is one of only six classes nationwide to feature multiple blue-chip prospects. Catherine Rennard (No. 18), Lillian Santos (No. 25) and Bella Jacutin-Mariona (No. 57) are the three newcomers who make up the third-best class in school history.

Chasing 100
Senior Nevena Carton is closing in on 100 career wins. She has 96 so far and holds a career .536 overall record (50-48 singles, 46-35 doubles).

Last Time Out
Wake Forest swept its lone doubleheader of the season. It defeated Marshall, 4-3, in the afternoon session and UNC Greensboro, 7-0, in the nightcap. The 7-0 sweep was the first of the season for the Deacs.

Series History
Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 13-4, a series that dates back to 1979. The Deacs are 5-0 against the Monarchs on the road; the last time they played in Norfolk was 2024 (4-1 win).

Last Meeting: W, 4-2 on January 26, 2025
Streak: Wake Forest, W2

Next Up
Wake Forest returns home for a five-match home stand before ACC play gets underway. The Deacs' next home match will be against the Memphis Tigers at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.