Wake Forest Falls at Home to No. 42 Notre Dame

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest women's tennis (10-11, 2-7 ACC) could not complete the comeback against No. 42 Notre Dame (15-7, 4-6 ACC), falling 4-2 on Friday evening. Though Evie Oxford and Sankavi Gownder once again had strong singles outings, the Old Gold & Black were not able to overcome the slow doubles start. They will have a chance to bounce back and win the final home match of the season on Senior & Graduates Day on Sunday as Nevena Carton is honored.

Notre Dame was the more consistent team in doubles, as the Irish took home two of the three matches to begin the match. Akari Matsuno and Mari-Louise Van Zyl began the day with a win over Krystal Blanch and Aubrey Nisbet in third singles. Rylie Hanford and Gabriella Rawles followed suit, erasing a two-game deficit to take down Gownder and Oxford. The Irish were denied the sweep by the red-hot duo of Carton and Kady Tannenbaum, however. They were able to extend their winning streak, defeating No. 34 Bianca Molnar and Bojana Pozder in first doubles. It marked Carton and Tannenbaum's third ranked win in the past five matches. The Deacs' top duo is undefeated in its past seven matches.

After Notre Dame took the first singles match, Wake Forest's reliable duo of Oxford and Gownder came through again. Oxford got the Deacs on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Pozder in third singles. She improved to 15-2 in singles on the season and leads the team in wins. Minutes later, Gownder took down Hanford to level the match at two apiece. She is now 14-1 in singles this season; her .933 win percentage would place best in school history if it stands. The pair of Texans have combined to play in five of the six slots in the lineup and are an amazing 29-3 combined this season.

Carton saw her singles winning streak come to an end, falling to No. 62 Molnar as Notre Dame regained the lead. The match ended with a second-set surge from Sophia Holod as she beat Bulger to clinch the victory for the Irish. Tannenbaum and her opponent, Jessica Kovalcik, were the only two players who did not complete their match. It was set to head to set three as Notre Dame clinched the team win. All five completed matches were won in straight sets.

The Demon Deacons fall to 10-11 on the season with three regular-season matches remaining. They will take on Louisville in their final home match of the season Sunday (12 p.m.). Come on out and support the Deacs on Senior & Graduates Day!

Doubles Results

Nevena Carton/Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) def. No. 34 Bianca Molnar/Bojana Pozder (ND), 6-4

Rylie Hanford/Gabriella Rawles (ND) def. Sankavi Gownder/Evie Oxford (WFU), 6-4

Akari Matsuno/ Mari-Louise Van Zyl (ND) def. Krystal Blanch/Aubrey Nisbet (WFU) 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles Results

No. 62 Bianca Molnar (ND) def. Nevena Carton (WFU), 7-5, 6-2

Akari Matsuno (ND) def. Krystal Blanch (WFU), 6-1, 6-0

Evie Oxford (WFU) def. Bojana Pozder (ND), 6-4, 6-1

Sophia Holod (ND) def. Heidi Bulger (WFU), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4

Sankavi Gownder (WFU) def. Rylie Hanford (ND), 7-5, 6-1

Kady Tannenbaum (WFU) vs. Jessica Kovalcik (ND), 7-5, 3-6 (unfinished)

Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 1, 4

How It Happened

Wake Forest got off to a slow start in doubles, dropping the first two matches of the session.

Notre Dame leads, 1-0.

Carton and Tannenbaum defeated Notre Dame's top duo, No. 34 Molnar/Pozder.

Matsuno increased Notre Dame's lead with a quick win over Blanch to begin the singles scoring.

Oxford won her 15th singles match of the season, defeating Pozder.

Gownder followed suit with a straight-sets win in fifth singles

Match tied, 2-2.

No. 62 Molnar took down Carton on court one to put the Irish back in front.

Tannenbaum and Kovalcik split the first two sets of the match and moved on to the third and deciding set.

Shortly after, Holod defeated Bulger, clinching the match for the Irish.

Notre Dame wins, 4-2.

From Coach Wyshner

"Another good, close college tennis match for two pretty evenly-matched teams. We need to be better in doubles. It's just been a problem all year, and in these closely-matched situations, it is hard to overcome. I did love the fight we showed in the first sets of singles at all six spots. We didn't hang our heads after doubles. Only getting three first-set wins in singles just made it too tall off a hill to climb. Looking forward to honoring Nevena on senior day on Sunday… on to that one."

Up Next

Sunday, April 5, is Wake Forest's Senior & Graduates Day! Senior Nevena Carton will be honored before the match against Louisville. First serve is set for noon.

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