Some hills are just too steep to climb.
Tennessee men’s tennis fell to the defending national champions, Wake Forest, 4-1, in the familiar confines of Goodfriend Tennis Center on Sunday.
“If you look at their squad, it’s really a dream team,” head coach Chris Woodruff said.
The top-ranked Demon Deacons (3-0) seized early momentum over the Vols (2-1) by securing the doubles point. Jose Garcia and Boruch Skierkier proved no match for the dominant net play and aggression from Aryan Shah and Luca Pow and fell 1-6, while Dragos Cazacu and Piotr Siekanowicz battled hard but could not overcome the strong pair of D.K. Suresh Ekambaram and Charlie Robertson, losing 4-6.
The defending national champions rode the early momentum through the early portion of the singles session, sweeping each of the opening sets. Ethan Muza could not overcome Dutchman Mees Rottgering, and Skierkier fell in straight sets to Joaquin Guilleme, putting the Vols on the brink.
But slowly, Tennessee began to fight and turn the momentum in its favor. Garcia and senior Alejandro Moreno rallied in their matches to force deciding sets, while Cazacu and Jan Kobierski dug deep just to stay alive. A backhand passing shot followed by an error gave Kobierski the second set, 7-5, while energizing the crowd. Cazacu fended off break points late in the set and broke to seize the second set himself, 7-5.
The crowd and the momentum were with the Vols, and Moreno furthered the cause by winning his match against Suresh Ekambaram 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. As Kobierski and Cazacu fought to rally, all eyes turned to Garcia and his match with Pow. A forehand passing shot from the Demon Deacon swayed the momentum late, and Garcia’s resistance and serve were broken to secure the match for Wake Forest.
Little Moreno, big result
Moreno stands at 5-foot-9 and has a tremendous compete level. His opponent, Suresh Ekambaram, stood roughly 6-foot-3 and possessed a powerful serve. He also entered the match ranked as the 12th-ranked collegiate player in the nation. Suffice to say, Moreno had his hands full.
“He (had) a very powerful game, and the points with him (were) very short,” Moreno said. “It doesn’t really give you very much rhythm, so you kind of just have to stay out there and get ready for a long battle.”
The serve proved problematic early, and the national champion squeezed a backhand pass up the line to secure an early second-set break to put the Knoxville kid on the brink.
Yet, much like David stood over Goliath, Moreno towered over his opponent by match’s end.
How did he do it?
“Obviously, the energy from the crowd was really good; we have a really good fanbase here,” Moreno said. “I think the tactics were really important, getting him on the run, he’s a big guy, he doesn’t change direction as well.”
His belief never wavered, and his play elevated as his opponent wilted. Despite the team dropping the match, his individual result was very impressive and perhaps could be something he will build on.
Close, but no cigar
Garcia was completely outclassed early versus Pow, who entered the match ranked 15th in the ITA collegiate singles rankings, and dropped the first set 1-6. But he slowly gained ground, created momentum with strong play from the baseline and stole the second set, 6-3.
Ultimately, the sophomore fell in the third set, 4-6. After such a difficult result against a talented opponent, the message was brief but quite important.
“Head up,” Woodruff said.
Garcia is a key cog in the Vols lineup, and Woodruff is quite cognizant of such.
“He’s won plenty of big matches for us,” Woodruff said. “Last year, (in the) SEC tournament, he was instrumental.”
While Garcia could not pull off an upset, he pushed one of the best players in the nation to the brink. How he responds going forward will be important to watch.
Belief to the end
The Vols fell behind 3-0 quickly, and things looked quite bleak. Yet they kept competing and held their nerves against the number one team in the nation.
“A lot of those guys have national titles. Luca (Pow) played, DK (Suresh Ekambaram) played, Charlie (Robertson) played,” Woodruff said.
Moreno rallied and beat Suresh Ekambaram. Garcia fought and took Pow into deep waters. Kobierski dueled fiercely with Robertson. Cazacu held his nerve and gave his teammates and the crowd energy and life. Given the fickle nature of energy and momentum in tennis, such nuances are magnified in tight matches like this.
As for what coach Woodruff wants to see in their next match against third-ranked TCU, the emphasis was quite simple.
“I want to see the same approach, I want to see the same consistency, I want to see them do all the things they’re capable of doing,” Woodruff said. “I want to see good energy.”
