Jan. 31, 2013
The 49th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team continues its challenging non-conference slate this weekend, hosting No. 41 Louisville at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex before traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on No. 20 Michigan on Sunday at noon.
Admission to all home tennis matches is free and complimentary pizza will be provided at Friday's match against Louisville between doubles and singles.
Off to a Perfect Start
Wake Forest has started the season 6-0, marking its best start in eight seasons. In their most recent action, the Demon Deacons swept a tough dual match weekend, beating No. 48 Alabama 4-3, No. 59 New Mexico 8-1 and Penn State 4-0.
The last time Wake Forest got off to a 6-0 start was back in 2005 when the Deacons won their first seven matches and went on to finish with a 17-7 record.
In the Rankings
Buoyed by its sweep of Alabama, Penn State and New Mexico, Wake Forest made the biggest jump of any team in this week's ITA rankings, vaulting up 16 spots to No. 49.
No new individual rankings have been released since the preseason, meaning that senior Amogh Prabhakar still ranks No. 59 nationally in singles and fellow senior Danny Kreyman still occupies the 90th position on the national charts. The next batch of individual rankings are scheduled to be released on Feb. 12.
The Freshmen Play Well
Wake Forest's roster was bolstered this season by the addition of a top-10 recruiting class, and the rookies have proved their worth over the first six matches, going a combined 13-0 in dual match singles play.
Jon Ho has stepped into the No. 4 spot in the Deacon lineup, winning all six of his matches, including a gutty three-set victory over Penn State's Russell Bader that clinched the win for the Demon Deacons.
Sam Bloom has locked down the No. 6 singles position for the Deacs, going 5-0, highlighted by straight-set win over Alabama's Carlos Taborga that proved to be the deciding point in the 4-3 victory.
Wake Forest played eight singles matches against New Mexico, giving freshmen Anthony Delcore and Morgan Mays the chance to compete in singles, and both won their matches with Delcore notching the clinching point.
Record Watch
Danny Kreyman took down Penn State's Tomas Hanzlik last weekend for the 93rd singles victory of his career. Kreyman currently sits in eighth place in the Wake Forest record books. He is two wins away from tying Mike Murray (95 wins from 2000-03) for seventh place. Current assistant coach Brett Ross is also approaching on the horizon for Kreyman. Ross won 97 matches between 2002-06.
David Hopkins won all three of his doubles matches last weekend to push his career total to 83 doubles victories, moving him into seventh place in school history. He is one win away from tying Todd Paul (2003-07) for sixth place.
Recent History vs. Louisville
Wake Forest and Louisville have squared off in a pair of hotly contested matches the past two seasons with the Demon Deacons winning 4-3 at home in Winston-Salem in 2011 and the Cardinals earning revenge with a 4-3 win in Louisville last season.
In the most recent meeting, Louisville won the doubles point and then did enough to hang on in singles for a 4-3 win. Danny Kreyman, Amogh Prabhakar and Alex Tsai posted wins for the Demon Deacons in the match.
In 2011, the Cardinals came to Winston-Salem in what would be the second-to-last match ever played on-campus in Leighton Stadium, and the Demon Deacons came back after dropping the doubles point to pull off a 4-3 win. Due to Leighton's five-court setup, then-freshman Adam Lee went on the court last at No. 6 singles knowing that the match would be decided by him. Cheered on by the raucous crowd, Lee edged Andrew Carter 7-6 (4), 6-3 to give the Demon Deacons an important victory.
Recent History vs. Michigan
Wake Forest and Michigan have met in each of the past five seasons with the Wolverines holding a 3-2 edge in that recent series. Last year, Michigan came to Winston-Salem and escaped with a 4-3 win. The Wolverines won the doubles point, with the decisive No. 3 match coming down to a tiebreak. Adam Lee, Conner Sherwood and Alex Tsai won for the Deacons at the bottom three positions in the singles lineup.
In their last trip to Ann Arbor, the Demon Deacons won the doubles point, but the Wolverines swept a Wake Forest roster that was depleted by illness to post a 6-1 win.
