2020 NCAA Preview: Wake Forest men

Wake Forest reached the summit of the college game in 2018, when the school won its first NCAA men’s tennis title as host of the Championships. 

They were led that year by Petros Chrysochos and Borna Gojo, who also squared off in the NCAA singles final, with Chrysochos taking top honors.

But the Cypriot’s college tennis career ended last spring, when the Demon Deacons repeat bid fell short against Texas in the NCAA finals. He now competes on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

“Petros was a huge leader for us and a great guy, and we’re going to miss him dearly,” said head coach Tony Bresky.

As for Gojo, his status for his senior year remains unconfirmed, though the Croat is currently listed on the Wake Forest roster. 

But Bresky returns the four other singles starters from the 2019 title match, three of whom are currently ranked in the ITA's Top 70: junior Bar Botzer (No. 43), junior Rrezart Cungu (No. 56) and sophomore Siddhant Banthia (No. 67).

In addition to the returning talent, the North Carolina outfit welcomes a pair of new international aces to campus this month: Henri Squire, the No. 1 German junior in 2019, and Canada’s Taha Baadi, who reached the French Open junior quarterfinals and Wimbledon third round last summer, will both be with the team for the spring campaign.  

“Those are both really good editions that we’re excited about,” Bresky said. “I think those guys will make an immediate impact.”

While the Wake lineup will have a new feel to it, particularly at the top of the singles order, the team’s goals are unchanged.

“Our goals are to develop our guys, play our best tennis, try to peak for Indoors, NCAAs and ACCs,” explained Bresky.

“The ACC I would say is potentially the toughest conference in the country, and it gets you ready for NCAAs. We’re trying to repeat what we’ve done in the past.”

The Demon Deacons open the 2020 season with a home double-header on Jan. 18, with Coastal Carolina and Tennessee Tech coming into Winston-Salem. Their ACC schedule kicks off on Feb. 9 against Virginia, but not before a marquee road matchup against Big 12 giants Baylor on Feb. 6.