Feb. 23, 2007

Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Demon Deacon men's tennis team hosts a pair of marquee opponents this weekend as Louisville and Pepperdine come to Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center. For senior All-American Todd Paul, it will be his first opportunity to defend his number one national ranking.

First serve against Louisville is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Cardinals (6-6) are ranked 52nd in the most recent ITA poll. Louisville's top player is Slavko Radman, a senior from Croatia, who is ranked 40th.

Wake Forest (8-1) takes on Pepperdine, the 2006 NCAA Champions, on Sunday at noon. The Waves (7-3) have lost only to top-ranked Georgia and Illinois and Mississippi, both ranked fifth at the time. The Waves' top player is junior Andre Gegemann. The native of Germany is ranked 15th.

Wake Forest lost road matches last spring to both Louisville and Pepperdine. The Cardinals beat the Deacons 5-2 and the Waves won 6-1.

The Deacons have already defeated six nationally-ranked opponents this season and its most notable win came against 31st-ranked Minnesota, a decisive 5-1 victory.

Admission to Wake Forest tennis matches is free.