April 22, 2005

Cary, N.C. - Derrick Spice's come from behind three-set victory at No. 1 singles allowed Wake Forest to defeat fifth-seeded and 27th-ranked Clemson 4-3 on Friday afternoon in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Cary, N.C.

With the win, the Deacons (16-5) advance to play top-seeded and second-ranked Virginia (22-2) in Saturday's semifinal at 10:00 a.m.

Spice's three-set win at No. 1 singles was his fourth straight victory, all against nationally-ranked opponents. He improved to 17-15 overall and 8-3 against ACC opponents this spring. Spice, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, defeated 22nd-ranked Nathan Thompson, the ACC's Player of the Year, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Deacons staked a big 3-0 lead by taking the doubles point and getting straight set singles victories from Andrew Hamar (6-1, 7-5) and Marius Adamski (6-1, 6-3).

But at No. 2 and No. 4, Todd Paul and Brett Ross dropped first set tiebreakers and couldn't bounce back in the second set. A short time later, Clemson's Clint Boling beat Wake Forest's Liron Strauss at No. 6 singles to even the overall score at three.

That left the match to be settled by Spice and Thompson. In the third set, Spice broke Thompson's serve twice and won the final set 6-3 to seal the individual and team victory.

"Clemson was an NCAA quarterfinalist last year and they're known as a tournament team. This is great win for us," head coach Jeff Zinn said. "It's a great team for us. For Derrick to clinch the match by beating the ACC Player of the Year is awesome."

The Demon Deacons qualify for the ACC Tournament semifinals for the fifth straight year, but will be looking for their first ever finals appearance.

#4 Wake Forest 4, #5 Clemson 3
Doubles:
#1 - Spice/Ross (WF) def. #41 Thompson/Young (CU)
     8-5
#2 - Koning/Reix (CU) def. Adamski/Hamar (WF)
     8-3
#3 - Joe Bates/Paul (WF) def. Cook/Twente (CU)
     8-4
Order of Finish:  2, 3, 1*
Singles:
#1 - #54 Derrick Spice (WF) def. #22 Nathan Thompson (CU)
     2-6, 6-4, 6-3
#2 - Sander Koning (CU) def. #51 Todd Paul (WF)
     7-6, 7-5
#3 - #91 Andrew Hamar (WF) def. Clement Reix (CU)
     6-1, 7-5
#4 - Ryan Young (CU) def. Brett Ross (WF)
     7-6, 6-3
#5 - Marius Adamski (WF) def. Brett Twente (CU)
     6-1, 6-3
#6 - Clint Boling (CU) def. Liron Strauss (WF)
     6-0, 7-6
Order of Finish:  5, 3, 2, 4, 6, 1*