In an intense Atlantic Coast Conference matchup held at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on Friday evening, the No. 25 Wake Forest women’s tennis team emerged victorious after defeating the University of Louisville 5-2. Despite a strong showing from the Cardinals, Wake Forest took an early lead in the match after winning doubles matches on courts one and three. The duo of Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth, ranked 26th in the nation, defeated Louisville’s Andrea DiPalma and Rhea Verma 6-2, giving the Demon Deacons an early edge. However, the Cardinals retaliated with a win on court three as Jamilah Snells and Cici Xin defeated Nevena Carton and Maddie Lynch 6-1 to even the doubles tally.
In singles, the Cardinals fought hard, and Maria Campos‘ impressive 6-0, 6-2 win over Mia Ahmad at the No. 6 spot evened the match score. However, the Demon Deacons quickly countered with wins on courts two and four to take a 3-1 lead. Louisville managed to gain some momentum after Di Palma took down the 41st-ranked player in the nation, Casie Wooten, in a close match at the No. 1 spot, making the match score 3-2.
The match was then left in the hands of players on courts three and five who were locked in third-set battles. Verma rebounded from a 6-0 first-set loss to Killingsworth to pick up a 6-4 win in the second set. However, the players traded games in the decisive third set before Killingsworth ultimately prevailed with a 7-5 victory to seal the win for Wake Forest.
On the final singles match on court, Xin fell 6-2 in her first set against Lynch but made a strong comeback in the second set with a 7-5 win. However, she ultimately fell 6-2 in the third set.
Louisville, who now stands at 8-9 overall and 0-7 in the ACC, will return to action on Sunday when the eighth-ranked NC State visits the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center for a 12 p.m. matchup. Meanwhile, Wake Forest improves to 12-7 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, solidifying their standing in the conference.
