Miami Falls at Fourth-Ranked Wake Forest, 4-1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Facing the defending national champion, fourth-ranked Wake Forest, on its home court, the University of Miami men’s tennis team got off to a fast start in doubles, but it was not enough, as the Demon Deacons claimed the match, 4-1.
Competing at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex Center Sunday afternoon, No. 25 Miami’s (16-9, 7-5 ACC) No. 1 doubles tandem of junior Stephen Madonia and sophomore Adria Soriano Barrera quickly took care of business against No. 62 Borna Gojo and Alan Gadjiev, 6-2.
At No. 3 doubles, Wake Forest’s Siddhant Banthia and Melios Efstathiou evened the playing field after winning a close battle with sophomores Pablo Aycart Joya and Tatsuki Shimamoto, 6-4.
Battling Petros Chrysochos and Julian Zlobinsky, sophomores Bojan Jankulovski and William Grattan-Smith earned a 6-4 triumph to secure the doubles point against the Demon Deacons.
In singles, Banthia quickly evened the match with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Shimamoto
Moments later, No. 19 Gojo picked up a 6-1, 6-2 win against No. 55 Soriano Barrera, as Wake Forest (25-3, 12-0) jumped in front 2-1 in the overall match.
Competing in his first dual singles match this spring, Aycart Joya came up short against No. 100 Efstathiou, 2-6, 0-6.
After dropping the opening set against No. 43 Bar Botzer, 1-6, Madonia jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the second. However, the junior’s comeback fell short, 1-6, 5-7.
The final two singles matches remained unfinished, with both Grattan-Smith and Jankulovski looking to force third sets.
Facing off against the defending national singles champion, third-ranked Chrysochos, No. 81 Jankulovski trailed 2-6, 4-5 when play was halted.
Meanwhile on court 4, Grattan-Smith was in a second-set tiebreaker against Cunju, 1-6, 6-6 (0-3) before the match was clinched.
The Hurricanes will return to action at 9 a.m. on Thursday in the opening round of the ACC Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Seeded fifth, Miami will square off against the winner of Wednesday’s qualifier match between 12th-seeded Clemson and 13th-seeded Boston College.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s tennis team on social media, follow @CanesMensTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
