RAMS BATTLE #15 WAKE FOREST HARD, BUT FALL 4-3

RICHMOND, Va. – From the start of the 2009-10 campaign, Head Coach Paul Kostin of the Virginia Commonwealth University men's program has commented that his team is very talented, but very young and inexperienced.

Sunday afternoon, the Rams showed just how good they can be when they battled the 15th-ranked Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University to the end, before falling 4-3 at the Thalhimer Tennis Center.

Wake Forest swept through the doubles point, but not before veterans Thibaut Charron (Sens, France) and Tim Johannsen (Hohenlockstedt, Germany) took the 16th-ranked doubles duo of Iain Atkinson and Steven Forman to a tie-breaker before falling, 8-7 (4).

Charron continued his strong play in singles competition with a 6-3, 7-5 straight set defeat of Forman at #1 singles.

The freshmen duo of Krisztin Krocsko (Budapest, Hungary) and Max Wennakoski (Helsinski, Finland) played well at third and fifth singles for the Black & Gold. Krocsko defeated Atkinson, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-2, while Wennakoski dropped Danny Kreyman, 7-5, 7-6 (8).

VCU will now host Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary on Wednesday evening in a 5 p.m. showdown at Thalhimer Tennis Center.

#15 Wake Forest 4, VCU 3

Singles Competition
1. Thibaut Charron def. Steven Forman (WFU), 6-3, 7-5
2. Frank Carleton (WFU) def. Tim Johannsen, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
3. Krisztin Krocsko def. Iain Atkinson (WFU), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-2
4. Jonathan Wolff (WFU) def. Filip Svensson, 6-1, 6-4
5. Max Wennakoski def. Danny Kreyman (WFU), 7-5, 7-6 (8)
6. Zach Leslie (WFU) def. Camill Salomon, 6-3, 6-1

Doubles Competition
1. #16 Forman/Atkinson (WFU) def. Charron/Johannsen, 8-7 (4)
2. Leslie/Kreyman (WFU) def. Krocsko/Salomon, 8-2
3. Wolff-Carleton (WFU) def. Svensson/Williams, 8-2

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5)