Duke Falls to No. 8 Wake Forest in Regular Season Finale; ACC Championship Bracket Revealed

Sunday, April 17

Winston-Salem, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

[8] Wake Forest

Andrew Zhang battles against Wake Forest during a dual match

Duke Falls to No. 8 Wake Forest in Regular Season Finale; ACC Championship Bracket Revealed

4/17/2022 6:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score FULL MEN'S TENNIS ACC CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – No. 19 Duke dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 8 Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

The Demon Deacons improve to 30-5 overall and 11-1 in ACC action, while the Blue Devils drop to 16-7 and 8-4, respectively. Duke now shifts its attention to the ACC Championship, which is set to begin Thursday at 10 a.m. in Rome, Ga. The Blue Devils, who earned the fifth seed in the tournament, will face off against either 12th-seeded Clemson or 13th-seeded Boston College.

"It was a great college tennis match today, and I'm really proud of our guys even though we fell just short," Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said. "Wake is a very tough team, especially at home, and we battled and put ourselves in position to win. Our team spirit, unity, and energy were awesome today. We had a match point to take the doubles point, and also a match point at No. 1 singles. Despite the loss, I feel we are bringing some positive momentum into the ACC Championship, and we can't wait to play our first match Thursday morning. This team can make a run this week in Rome, Ga."

In Sunday's contest, Duke jumped on things early, claiming the first doubles match on court three after Andrew Dale and Andrew Zhang defeated Ben Draper and Matthew Thomson, 6-4. The home side then tied things up at 1-1 following a win on the main court by Eduardo Nava and Robert Maciag. The pair recorded a 6-4 victory over Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni. With the doubles point coming down to the outcome on court two, the Demon Deacons were able to just outlast the Blue Devils in tiebreak fashion. Michael Heller and Garrett Johns battled with No. 29 Jakob Schnaitter and Siddhant Banthia but fell shy, 7-6 (6).

Despite trailing 1-0 heading into singles play, Dale would pull the Blue Devils even in the overall match following his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Banthia on court six.

Wake Forest would respond with two wins on court three and five to extend its edge to 3-1. Melios Efstathiou bested Connor Krug 6-4, 6-2 on court three before Schnaitter defeated Vallabhaneni on court five 6-1, 6-4.

The Blue Devils would keep fighting though, as Zhang cut into the lead after his 6-3, 6-1 upset win over No. 115 Jurabek Karimov on court two.

Unfortunately, the Demon Deacons secured the overall match win when Rrezart Cungu beat Edu Güell in a three-set thriller on court four. Cungu earned the 6-2 win in the opening frame but Güell battled back for a 6-1 victory in the second. Cungu would then hold on in the final set 6-2 to register the win.

The match on court one between No. 43 Johns and No. 54 Nava went unfinished with both players earning a win throughout the opening two sets. Johns tallied a 6-4 victory in the first frame before Nava outlasted him 7-6 (2) in the second. The third set was about to begin when Wake Forest clinched the overall match.

RESULTS
Doubles (3,1,2*)
1. Eduardo Nava/Robert Maciag (WF) def. Niroop Vallabhaneni/Faris Khan (DU) 6-4
2. #29 Jakob Schnaitter/Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Garrett Johns/Michael Heller (DU) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Andrew Zhang/Andrew Dale (DU) def. Ben Draper/Matthew Thomson (WF) 6-4

Singles (6,3,5,2,4*)
1. #54 Eduardo Nava (WF) vs. #43 Garrett Johns (DU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 0-0, unfinished
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #115 Jurabek Karimov (WF) 6-3, 6-1
3. Melios Efstathiou (WF) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Rrezart Cungu (WF) def. Edu Güell (DU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
5. Jakob Schnaitter (WF) def. Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Siddhant Banthia (WF) 6-4, 6-1

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
Duke earned the fifth seed in the upcoming ACC Championship and will play the winner of the 12-13 matchup between Clemson and Boston College on Thursday at 10 a.m. All matches will take place at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Ga.

The winner of that match will advance to Friday's quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Louisville. That contest is set for 10 a.m. The semifinals will be played at 10 a.m. on Saturday, while the championship match is slated for 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The semifinal match featuring the highest remaining seed and the Sunday championship match will broadcast live on ACC Network Extra. Championship ticket passes are $25. One-day entry passes are $10 for adults and $7 for children (age 9-17) and non-ACC college students. Children (8 and under) and ACC college students (with valid ID) are admitted free of charge.

To view the full bracket please click HERE.

#GoDuke