Wake Forest Defeats Clemson 6-1

March 25, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Wake Forest defeated Clemson 6-1 in an Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis match at Clemson, SC Friday afternoon.

With the win, Wake Forest improves to 7-6 overall and 1-2 in league play. The Demon Deacons are ranked 39th nationally. Clemson falls to 13-5 overall, and 0-3 in league play. The Tigers are ranked 58th nationally.

Clemson was a winner at number-one singles this afternoon. The Tigers’ Derek DiFazio, ranked 106 nationally, defeated #88-ranked Tripper Carleton of Wake Forest in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

“This is a very tough league, and you have to be ready everyday,” said Clemson Head Coach Chuck McCuen. I thought today’s match was very valuable in the development of the team. We had a few matches today that we weren’t able to close. Momentum can change very quickly. We need to learn from this and prepare for N.C. State Sunday afternoon.

“The reason I love this game is that it doesn’t have a clock. A player is in control of what happens. We have to learn perseverance and be aggressive every point. This was a tough loss today, and we must learn from it and be ready for the next match.

“I thought Derrick DiFazio played well and beat a ranked player. He was very focused, and he stayed in the match and battled. He didn’t give up any cheap points. I thought we had good unity on the team, and everyone was lifting each other up. We played hard, but we have to learn to play hard every point. We’re going to practice and continue to improve.”

Clemson will play host to ACC-foe N.C. State on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. in the Tigers’ next action.

Wake Forest 6, Clemson 1

Singles 1. #106 Derek DiFazio (CU) d. #88 Tripper Carleton (WF) 6-4, 6-2 2. #70 Jonathan Wolff (WF) d. Yannick Maden (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 3. Iain Atkinson (WF) d. Gerardo Meza (CU) 6-7 (7-4) 6-2, 6-2 4. Danny Kreyman (WF) d. Kevin Galloway (CU) 6-2, 6-0 5. David Hopkins (WF) Dominique Maden (CU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) 6. Zach Leslie (WF) d. Robert Pietrucha (CU) 6-3, 6-2 Order of finish: 4, 1, 6, 5, 3, 2

Doubles 1. Atkinson/Hopkins (WF) d. DiFazio/Galloway (CU) 8-6 2. Kreyman/Wolff (WF) d. Moritz Dettinger/Y. Maden (CU) 8-5 3. Carleton/Leslie (WF) d. Bolona/Pietrucha (CU) 8-5 Order of finish: 2, 1, 3