April 10, 2004

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- The 37th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team ended the regular season on a good note with a 4-3 victory over NC State Saturday afternoon at Leighton Tennis Stadium. The Demon Deacons finished the season with an 11-9 overall mark and 3-5 record in the ACC while the Wolfpack went 5-15 and 1-7, including eight straight losses to end the season.

The Deacs jumped out to an early advantage after taking two of three matches for the doubles point. Wake Forest's top pairing of Derrick Spice and Brett Ross breezed to an 8-1 victory over NC State's Jon Davis and Will Shaw to start things off. At No. 2, State's Conor Taylor and Andre Iriarte held off David Loewenthal and Andrew Hamar, 8-5, but Andrew Simpson and Todd Paul's 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles gave the Deacons a 1-0 lead.

In singles play, #75 Taylor pulled off a slight upset at No. 1 singles, taking down #51 Spice, 6-3, 6-2. The Wolfpack also got victories from Val Banada and William Noblitt at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, but the Deacons held on in the other three positions to walk away with the 4-3 victory. Ross (No. 4) and Hamar (No. 5) each cruised to straight-set victories, but the match of the day came at No. 3 where Loewenthal battled for a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win against NC State's Shaw.

The ACC Men's Tennis Championship begins Thursday, April 15 at the Millbrook Exchange in Raleigh and will run through Sunday, April 18.

#37 Wake Forest 4, North Carolina State 3

Doubles

No.1-- Spice/Ross (WF) def. Davis/Shaw (NCSU), 8-1
No.2-- Taylor/Iriarte (NCSU) def. Loewenthal/Hamar (WF), 8-5
No.3-- Simpson/Paul (WF) def. Banada/Noblitt (NCSU), 8-6

Singles

No.1-- #75 Conor Taylor (NCSU) def. #51 Derrick Spice (WF), 6-3, 6-2
No.2-- Val Banada (NCSU) def. Todd Paul (WF), 6-3, 6-4
No.3-- David Loewenthal (WF) def. Will Shaw (NCSU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
No.4-- Brett Ross (WF) def. Jon Davis (NCSU), 6-1, 6-2
No.5-- #116 Andrew Hamar (WF) def. Andre Iriarte (NCSU), 6-3, 6-0
No.6-- William Noblitt (NCSU) def. Liron Strauss (WF), 6-2, 6-1