Wake Forest Prepares to Battle the Bucs in 2025

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest's 2026 home opener is right around the corner. The Demon Deacons will welcome the ETSU Buccaneers to the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center on Monday afternoon. The Deacs have never lost to the Bucs, holding a perfect 3-0 all-time record over the SoCon squad. Last year, Wake Forest dominated ETSU 7-0 at home.

Returning players Nevena Carton, Krystal Blanch, Whitley Pate, Kady Tannenbaum and Sankavi Gownder all won singles and/or doubles matches against the Bucs in last year's rout. They will hope to repeat their success this year and improve to 1-1.

Last Time Out

No. 16 Tennessee defeated the Demon Deacons in the season opener on Saturday (Jan. 17), winning the singles session 5-1 after taking the doubles point to start the day. Junior Sankavi Gownder took home the lone singles victory for the Deacs in Knoxville.

Meet the Team

The 2026 squad is a mix of veteran returnees and fresh faces. Junior Sankavi Gownder got off to a hot start, starring in Knoxville to open the season. Gownder knocked off nationally ranked Elim Yan (82) on Saturday, good for her second-career ranked victory. She will look to remain undefeated on Monday.

The team is led by senior Nevena Carton. Carton is the team leader in career singles wins, with 47, and was the most successful ACC singles player on the Deacs last season, winning four of her six completed conference matches. Carton was ranked last season in both singles and doubles action, reaching the No. 53 spot solo and the No. 36 mark with teammate Kady Tannenbaum.

Fellow senior Whitley Pate is also back in Deactown for her fourth season. Pate enters the season with 55 career doubles wins following an impressive 19-5 doubles record in 2024-25. She and freshman Evie Oxford finished the fall ranked in doubles at No. 68.

Other returners include sophomore Kady Tannenbaum. She had a stellar freshman campaign, leading the Deacs in 2024-25 with 18 singles victories and 36 total wins. Krystal Blanch is also back and will look to build on a strong 2024-25 campaign in which she boasted winning records in both her singles and doubles matches.

Senior Jingyi Li made her season debut at Tennessee. The senior is back for 2025-26 with 28 total wins in her career. Aubrey Nisbet also returns for her junior campaign after seeing limited action as a sophomore. She made her doubles debut on Saturday.

As for the newcomers, Evie Oxford enters her first spring season with the Deacs after a marvelous high school career. The No. 1 recruit in the state of Texas fought hard in her first collegiate duel match in Knoxville, winning a set but ultimately falling in a shortened third set in her first singles match. She excelled when paired with Pate in the fall, finishing the season nationally ranked in doubles (68).

Heidi Bulger joins the Deacs after earning an all-conference selection at Elon last season. The sophomore finished 18-4 in singles and 11-7 in doubles in her impressive rookie season. She played in the singles sessions in Knoxville on Saturday.

Fan Information

There will be free admission for all home matches at the Wake Forest Tennis Center this spring. Monday will feature 'Camp Day' with an opportunity of a $20 voucher for enrolled campers. A pizza giveaway will also be available for the first 50 fans.

Next Up

After Monday's match, the Deacs will hit the road once again to play Furman. They will take on the Paladins on Saturday, January 24. A start time will be announced at a later date.

The next home match will be Saturday, January 31, when the Marshall Thundering Herd come to town. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.

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