By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team unwrapped the 2022 spring season with a pair of losses to No. 10 Wake Forest, as the Golden Eagles dropped the first affair 7-0 and the second tilt 4-0 to conclude Sunday's doubleheader.
1st Match (WFU 7 TTU 0):
The opening clash did feature a Tech win in doubles action, as the tandem of Evzen Holis and Andre Rodeia registered a 6-4 triumph over Siddhant Banthia and Matthew Thompson out of the No. 2 position, but the Demon Deacons (2-0) ultimately secured the doubles point with victories in the other two spots. Eduardo Nava and Ben Draper knocked off No. 38 Mika Berghaus and Elias Grubert, 6-3, while Melios Efstathiou and Taha Baadi powered past Jun Sasagawa and Rafael Tosetto, 7-5.
Tech (0-2) did collect a pair of set nods during singles play with two of the six matchups needing all three sets. Evzen Holis fell 7-6, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6) to Melios Efstathiou in the top singles battle and Elias Grubert was upended 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (10-3) by Siddhant Banthia in the No. 3 position.
Wake Forest picked up straight-set wins in the other four matchups on the way to clinching the first contest. No. 75 Flilippo Moroni notched a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Mika Berghaus in the No. 2 slot, while No. 117 Robert Maciag earned a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Andre Rodeia in the No. 4 position and Matthew Thompson collected a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Rafael Tosetto in the No. 5 spot. Juan Lopez de Azona rounded out the club's winning ways with a 6-2, 6-4 nod over Jun Sasagawa in the No. 6 meeting.
2nd Match (WFU 4 TTU 0):
Wake Forest took care of business during doubles play with wins in both completed clashes. The Demon Deacon tandem of Maciag and Draper knocked off Berghaus and Grubert, 6-2, in the No. 1 position and Nava and Moroni glided their way to a 6-3 nod over Holis and Rodeia in the No. 2 battle. Sasagawa and Tosetto's tangle with Lopez de Azona and Baadi did not finish in the No. 3 slot.
Three of six singles duels concluded and all swung in Wake's favor. Nava registered a 6-1, 6-0 win over Holis in the No. 1 get-together, while Efstathiou took home a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Berghaus in the No. 2 spot and Lopez de Azona notched a 6-0, 6-1 nod over Sasagawa in the No. 6 tilt.
The other solo meetings did not finish, even with two Golden Eagles earning a win in the initial set. Grubert fought his way to a 6-4 win against No. 75 Moroni in the first set out of the No. 3 position and the second set was deadlocked at 3-3 at the time it was called. Tosetto picked up a 6-3 triumph over No. 117 Maciag in the opening set, before dropping the second set 6-4 at the time the affair was called.
Banthia collected a 6-3 first-set victory against Rodeia in the opening set, but the Golden Eagle sophomore bounced back to take a 4-2 lead in the second set at the time it went unfinished.
Upcoming:
Tech will square off with a second consecutive "Power 5" opponent to open the year, as the Golden Eagles will flock to Knoxville on Jan. 23 for a matchup against the University of Tennessee. First serve with the Vols is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
