Discovering the Heart of Innovation: Wake Forest University Unleashed

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest men’s tennis squad commenced the 2025 season with two 7-0 triumphs over Tennessee Tech and ETSU on Sunday at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.

With this sweep, Wake Forest has now launched the season with a 2-0 record for the fourth consecutive year.

In doubles play, the Demon Deacons (2-0, 0-0 ACC) secured victories on courts one and two in both encounters on Sunday, notably featuring sophomore Luca Pow and graduate student Luciano Tacchi who achieved a 2-0 record together as they maintained their momentum from their fall recognition as doubles All-Americans.

Graduate student Franco Capalbo also achieved two doubles victories on the day, one alongside Martin Mazev (6-2 against Tennessee Tech) and another with Ioannis Xilas (6-3 versus ETSU).

In singles, sophomore star Luca Pow extended his winning streak in dual matches to 21 matches in a row dating back to the previous season by defeating Murilo Burckhardt (TTU) 6-1, 6-2 and Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5).

Six competitors made their dual-match debuts for Wake Forest, with Xilas, Harry Thursfield, Dylan Chang, Joaquin Guilleme, Nikola Parichkov, and Mazev all participating on Sunday.

Xilas, who played in both matches at the first singles position, remained undefeated on the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Tennessee Tech’s Alex Alvarex and a 6-4, 6-2 win over ETSU’s Peter Kalocsai. Notably, both of his wins were match clinchers.

Tacchi and Capalbo also rounded out the beginning of the 2025 season with a record of 2-0 in singles (full results listed below).

Importantly, the Deacs improve to an 8-1 lifetime record against the Golden Eagles and a 29-2 record against the Buccaneers.

How It Unfolded (Tennessee Tech)

• Wake Forest seized the early lead in doubles, as Capalbo/Mazev broke the Tennessee Tech team early in the second doubles, with the other two courts maintaining serve.
• The Demon Deacons secured the doubles point with simultaneous victories on courts one and two, as No. 4 Tacchi/Pow and Capalbo/Mazev both won 6-2.
• In singles, Luca Pow continued his success from last season, winning the first five games in his match and ultimately claiming the first set 6-1 on court two.
• Xilas (6-1) and Tacchi (6-3) quickly followed suit, winning the first sets on courts one and three, respectively.
• On court four, Capalbo commenced his season with a 6-1 victory in the first set of fourth doubles.
• Thursfield captured court three due to a medical retirement on court five as Wake Forest led 2-0.
  • His match was halted at 3-3.

• Chang became the fifth Demon Deacon to secure the first set, winning it on court six, 6-3.
• Wake Forest maintained its momentum into the second sets with players on courts 1-4 all establishing strong leads.
• Pow increased the lead to 3-0 for the Deacs as he earned his 20th consecutive win in dual matches, defeating Murilo Burckhardt 6-1, 6-2 on court two.
• In his inaugural dual match as a Demon Deacon, No. 115 Xilas clinched the match for Wake Forest with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alex Alvarez in the first singles match.
  • The final three matches were allowed to conclude.

• In fourth singles, Capalbo started his season on a positive note with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Lucas Bitzer.
• Tacchi (6-3, 6-2) and Chang (6-3, 6-2) completed the sweep with victories on courts three and six, respectively.

 
Singles Results (Tennessee Tech)
1. No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) def. Alex Alvarez (TTU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Luca Pow (WFU) def. Murilo Burckhardt (TTU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) def. Oliver Dao (TTU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Franco Capalbo (WFU) def. Lucas Bitzer (TTU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Harry Thursfield (WFU) def.  Davids Spaks (TTU) 3-3, retirement
6. Dylan Chang (WFU) def. Darek Kuczynski (TTU) 6-3, 6-2

Order of finish: 5, 2, 1, 4, 3, 6 

Doubles Results (Tennessee Tech)

1. No. 4 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) def. Dao/Bitzer (TTU) 6-2

2. Capalbo/Mazev (WFU) defeated Alvarez/Burckhardt (TTU) 6-2

3. Xilas/Parichkov (WFU) vs. Spaks/Kuczynski (TTU) 3-3, ongoing

Order of conclusion: 2, 1

How It Unfolded (ETSU)

• In doubles, courts one and three remained on-serve early while Xilas/Capalbo surged to a 5-2 advantage on court two.
  
  • The Deacs claimed court two, 6-3.

• Both Wake Forest teams on courts one and three were serving for the match simultaneously; however, Tacchi/Pow secured the 6-4 win first, while court three remained unfinished.
• Wake Forest jumped to significant leads early in singles, notably with a 6-0 first-set win for newcomer Guilleme on court four.
  • Tacchi (6-1) and Pow (6-0) soon followed with first-set triumphs on courts two and three, respectively.

• For the second straight match, Wake Forest secured the first set on all six courts as Xilas (6-4), Capalbo (6-2), and Shalmi (6-3) all took the lead.
• Guilleme was the first Demon Deacon to achieve victory in singles, garnering a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win on court four for his inaugural dual match victory.
• The match was clinched shortly thereafter as Capalbo (6-2, 6-0) and Xilas (6-2, 6-2) secured fifth and first singles, respectively, improving both to 2-0 for the season.
• Freshman Shalmi achieved his first-ever dual match victory on court six with a score of 6-2, 6-2.
• Tacchi also moved to 2-0 due to a medical retirement on court two.
• On court three, Pow concluded a flawless Sunday with a tiebreak win, extending his dual-match winning streak to 21.

 
Singles Outcomes (ETSU)
1. No. 115 Ioannis Xilas (WFU) defeated Peter Kalocsai (ETSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Luciano Tacchi (WFU) defeated Martin Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) 6-1, 3-6, 1-1, retirement
3. Luca Pow (WFU) defeated Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Joaquin Guilleme (WFU) defeated Francisco Lamas (ETSU) 6-0, 6-2
5. Franco Capalbo (WFU) defeated Juan Andres Listo (ETSU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Cornelius Shalmi (WFU) defeated Carlos Gonzalez (ETSU) 6-3, 6-2

Order of conclusion: 4, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3

Doubles Outcomes (ETSU)

1. No. 4 Pow/Tacchi (WFU) defeated Kalocsai/Garcia-Ripoll (ETSU) 6-4

2. Capalbo/Xilas (WFU) defeated Lamas/Listo (ETSU) 6-3

3. Shalmi/Mazev (WFU) vs. Sim/Cressoni (ETSU) 5-4, ongoing

Order of conclusion: 2, 1

From Coach Bresky

“Fantastic beginning to the season. The team was prepared, ready and eager. Playing at home in front of our supporters is always enjoyable. I believe we performed exceptionally well, and we are still lacking a few players in the lineup. We’re thrilled to earn two wins to kick off the season and now we look forward to facing Baylor on Friday, as it promises to be a challenging match.” – Head coach Tony Bresky

 

Next Match

The Demon Deacons will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 17, as they compete against Baylor in Waco, Texas at 1 p.m.

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