Wake Forest men’s tennis continued their regular season campaign, facing off against Notre Dame and Louisville this past weekend away from home. The No. 7 Demon Deacons’ utter domination in doubles gave them the edge over both the Fighting Irish and Cardinals. 

Against Notre Dame, Wake Forest’s doubles pairing of senior Siddhant Banthia and graduate student Jurabek Karimov got the Demon Deacons going with a 6-2 victory. Over on Court 3, junior Matthew Thomson and graduate student Jakob Schnaitter jumped out to an early lead and were able to provide another tally, winning 6-3. In singles, Wake Forest went 4-1 against the Irish, winning two of the matches in straight sets. The clinching win came from junior Taha Baadi, who picked up his 10th singles win this season. Baadi’s match went three sets, and he clutched up, winning the tiebreaker in the final set (6-1, 1-6, 7-6). The win gave Wake Forest its 10th consecutive win over Notre Dame and the momentum needed heading into Sunday’s contest at Louisville. 

In doubles against Louisville, the pairing of Banthia and Schnaitter dominated the Cardinals with a resounding 6-1 victory. On Court 3, Ben Draper and Thomson rallied to earn a 6-3 win over Louisville, securing the doubles point for a 1-0 advantage in the match. Fifth-year Rrezart Cungu won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. Additionally, fifth-year student Eduardo Nava won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 to extend the Demon Deacon lead to 3-0. Senior Melios Efstathiou put on a masterclass, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the match for Wake Forest and complete the sweep. The resounding victory by the Demon Deacons ended Louisville’s 11-match home win streak. 

“I’m proud of the team today. They came out to a red-hot Louisville squad that has not lost at home all season long and swept them,” Head Coach Tony Bresky said. “Now, we play the next eight matches at home, and we are excited to get to play in front of our fans.” 

Wake Forest women’s tennis continued conference play facing off against North Carolina and Duke this weekend at home. On Friday evening, the Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead capturing wins in doubles to secure the point and go up one. Senior Saby Nihalani won the Demon Deacons’ first singles match of the night, winning 6-4, 6-3. A hard-fought first set that ended in a tiebreaker gave graduate student Samantha Martinelli the momentum needed to win her match in three sets. This victory cut into the North Carolina lead, but eventually, Wake Forest fell 5-2. 

On Sunday, Duke controlled the momentum early, winning all three of its doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over Wake Forest. Martinelli was quick to answer, winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1 to secure a singles victory. Sophomore Brooke Killingsworth also tacked on a singles victory winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. These wins put the Demon Deacons up 2-1 over the Blue Devils. Later on – thanks to wins in singles matches – Duke rallied to take a 3-2 lead over Wake Forest. With the match at 3-2, Senior Carolyn Campana rebounded after dropping her first set 6-2 to win her match in the third set, tying it a 3-3. On court five, senior Anna Brylin battled in the third set of what would be the clinching match. Yet, Brylin came up short, losing 6-4 in the third set. Wake Forest fell 3-4. 

“I was very proud of how we competed today,” Head Coach Jeff Wyshner said. “If we keep playing with the heart this team plays with, some of these close matches will start to go our way.” 

Wake Forest’s women’s tennis will head on the road for next weekend’s matchups against Virginia and Virginia Tech.