Tigers Fall to No. 4 Wake Forest, Abderrahman Defeats No. 90 Ekambaram in Singles

WAKE FOREST, N.C. – The Clemson Tigers fell to No. 4 Wake Forest, 1-4 on Sunday on the road. This marks the third Top-20 conference opponent the Tigers have matched up with in the past four matches.

“This trip was a challenging weekend against very experienced teams,” Head Coach Brandon Wagner said. “We were doing well and leading in several matches but not enough to get 4 points up on the board. We are back on the road again for another road test at Georgia Tech. Our freshman are gaining some valuable experience that will help them a lot moving forward. Quick turnaround and ready for the opportunity on Wednesday afternoon.”

Shining bright on the day was No. 75 Wissam Abderrahman. The freshman notched the only point for the Tigers after easily defeating No. 90 DK Suresh Ekambaram, 6-2, 6-4. This marks the second ranked opponent Abderrahman has defeated in the last four matches

Opening the day in doubles, Marko Mesarovic and Stewart Aronson took on the No. 1 ranked duo in the nation, DK Suresh Ekambaram and Holden Koons. The Tigers managed to notch two points in the match but Wake Forest took the 6-2 victory.

Noa Vukadin and Max Damm also battled hard in doubles but the Demon Deacons secured a 6-4 victory to secure the win and give themselves the doubles point. 

In singles, the Demon Deacons were first to snag a victory as they increased their 2-0 lead following a win on court three. Responding after was Abderrahman, as his ranked win gave the Tigers their first point to improve the overall score, 2-1. 

Wake Forest was able to take wins on court six and five as they secured the 4-1 victory over the Tigers.  

On court one, Ryuhei Azuma was leading No. 22 Filippo Moroni in the third set. Losing the first set 6-0, Azuma came back in set two sending the set to a tiebreak. Azuma managed to win the tie-break 7-5. The third set was unfinished, with Azuma leading 2-0 as the match concluded.

Up next, the Tigers head to Atlanta to take on No. 28 Georgia Tech on Wednesday, March 13. The match is slated for 3 p.m.

Clemson 1, Wake Forest 4

Doubles: (1,2)

1. #1 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (WF) def. Marko Mesarovic/Stewart Aronson (CLE) 6-2 
2. Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Noa Vukadin/Max Damm (CLE) 6-4 
3. Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (WF) vs. Wissam Abderrahman/Maxwell Smith (CLE) 5-3, unfinished

Singles: (3,2,6,5)

1.  #22 Filippo Moroni (WF) vs. Ryuhei Azuma (CLE) 6-0, 6-7 (5-7), 0-2, unfinished
2. #75 Wissam Abderrahman (CLE) def. #90 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WF) 6-2, 6-4 
3. Matthew Thomson (WF) def. Noa Vukadin (CLE) 6-4, 6-4
4. Luca Pow (WF) vs. Marko Mesarovic (CLE) 5-7, 2-3, unfinished
5. #98 Luciano Tacchi (WF) def. Stewart Aronson (CLE) 7-5, 6-4 
6. Holden Koons (WF) def. Matt Pitts (CLE) 6-3, 6-3