April 20, 2007

Results

Cary, N.C. - Fourth-seeded Wake Forest exacted some revenge against fifth-seeded Clemson, defeating the Tigers 4-2 in Friday's ACC Championship quarterfinal in Cary, N.C. The day also took on a historical significance as Todd Paul became Wake Forest's all-time leader in singles wins.

Paul's victory, a 6-4, 6-3 decision against 121st-ranked Clement Reix, was the 107th his career.  Paul passed David Bere for the most singles wins ever by a Demon Deacon. The senior All-American from Stamford, Conn., improved to 32-6 this season.

Against Clemson on Friday, the Deacons got off on the right foot by capturing the doubles point. Wake Forest continued to roll with straight set wins by Paul and All-ACC selection Cory Parr. Paul and Parr's victories came against nationally-ranked opponents.

Despite the 3-0 lead, things looked a little dicey for Wake Forest.  The Tigers led by a set at numbers three and five and the matches at numbers four and six were in a third set. Someone needed to step up for the Deacons. Friday's hero was Mariusz Adamski, who dropped his first set 6-0, turned his match around 180 degrees.  He rallied to win 0-6, 6-3, 7-5, sending the Deacons into Saturday's semifinal.

At number six, Jason Morgenstern was on the verge of victory, leading 7-6, 2-6, 5-2, but his match was abandoned when the team win was sealed.

Thirteen days ago, Clemson handed Wake Forest a 4-3 regular season defeat in Tiger Town.

Wake Forest (21-5, 7-4 ACC) advances to the ACC semifinals where top-seeded Virginia awaits.  The Cavaliers sailed past eighth-seeded Miami, 4-1, on Friday morning. In the regular season, Virginia beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 4-2.

The Deacons have earned a place in the ACC semifinals for the sixth time since the tournament adopted its current format in 1990. Wake Forest, however, has never reached an ACC Tournament final.