Wake Forest Downs No. 42 Princeton in a Thrilling Road Victory

Saturday, March 21

Princeton, N.J.

12 P.M.

Wake Forest University

Princeton

Wake Forest Downs No. 42 Princeton in a Thrilling Road Victory

3/21/2026 4:23:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Nevena Carton’s outstanding homecoming performance leads the Deacs to their first ranked win of the season.

By: Joseph Baker

PRINCETON, N.J. – Wake Forest women's tennis (9-9, 1-5 ACC) wrapped non-conference play on a high note, defeating No. 42 Princeton (12-2), 4-3, on Saturday afternoon. Led by New Jersey native Nevena Carton, the Demon Deacons pulled off the thrilling road upset in the Garden State before returning to Winston-Salem for an ACC homestand.

Wake Forest took an early lead with a pair of wins in doubles. Carton and partner Kady Tannenbaum downed No. 87 Tsehay Driscoll and Pearlie Zhang to begin the day, giving the Deacs the early advantage. Shortly after, Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder secured the opening point for the Deacs with a win of their own on court two.

Oxford, playing up in third singles for the first time this season, had no issues with the promotion. She made quick work of Eva Elbaz, 6-1, 6-3, and notched the first singles win of the match to put the Demon Deacons up by two. The freshman improved to a remarkable 13-1 record in singles on the season.

Carton's brilliant day continued when she beat No. 79 Alice Ferlito in first singles. It is her second consecutive ranked win after beating Amalie Van Impe of SMU last weekend. Carton completed a perfect 2-0 day in her homecoming match, beating nationally ranked opponents in both doubles and singles.

The Tigers wouldn't go down without a fight. Princeton responded with three consecutive singles wins to level the match at 3-3. It would all come down to the result of Gownder versus Tsehay Driscoll. After dropping the first set, 6-4, Gownder leveled the match after a hard-fought second set. The junior would come up clutch in the third set to earn the Deacs the road win. The final would end up reading 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 in favor of Gownder.

"First" was the theme of the day for Wake Forest, as it recorded its first ranked win and first road win of the season. The Deacs will be hoping to carry that momentum into their final stretch of conference games, beginning next week with a showdown against Syracuse. The win on Saturday marked the final non-conference match of the season for the Deacs, as they finish with a strong 8-4 record against teams outside of the ACC this season. They will return home for a four-match homestand before heading up to Virginia for a pair of conference matches to close the regular season.

Doubles Results

Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. No. 87 Tsehay Driscoll/Pearlie Zhang (PU), 6-1
Evie Oxford/Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Eva Elbaz/Isabella Chhiv (PU), 6-4
Alice Ferlito/Maren Urata (PU) vs. Krystal Blanch/Aubrey Nisbet (WFU), 5-4 (unfinished)

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles Results

Nevena Carton (WFU) def. No. 79 Alice Ferlito (PU), 7-5, 6-2
Isabella Chhiv (PU) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU), 6-1, 0-0 (Blanch retirement)
Evie Oxford (WFU) def. Eva Elbaz (PU), 6-1, 6-3
Madeleine Jessup (PU) def. Kady Tannenbaum (WFU), 6-2, 6-2
Pearlie Zhang (PU) def. Heidi Bulger (WFU), 6-1, 6-3
Sankavi Gownder (WFU) Tsehay Driscoll (PU), 4-6, 7-6, 7-5

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

How it Happened

Nevena Carton and Kady Tannenbaum exploded out to an early lead on No. 87 Driscoll/Zhang and never looked back, winning 6-1.
Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder defeated Elbaz/Chhiv on court two, giving Wake Forest the early lead.
- Wake Forest led, 1-0, at the time.
Oxford, playing third singles for the match, cruised to a straight-sets victory over Elbaz.
Carton earned another ranked win, this time over No. 79 Ferlito to put the Deacs on the cusp of victory.
Chhiv defeated Krystal Blanch due to a retirement on court two.
Zhang took down Heidi Bulger in straight sets in fifth singles.
Jessup beat Tannenbaum to level the match at 3-3.
Gownder beat Driscoll in a lengthy, three-set battle to clinch the match for the Demon Deacons.
- Wake Forest won, 4-3.

From Coach Wyshner
"I'm really excited for the team today. Sankavi was amazing; she held off two match points in the second set and was down 3-0 in the third. Great job by her. The team found a way with our best doubles effort of the year, and then Evie and Nevena were great in singles to get it to Sankavi! Excited to get the win, now time for some big ACC matches at home next weekend."

Up Next
Wake Forest will return home for a four-match homestand. The Deacs will open that stretch against Syracuse in our 'We are Wake– Green Game' on Friday, March 27. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m.