New Digs, Classic Finish

STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman Jagger Leach overcame a 5-2 third-set deficit to clinch No. 25 Stanford’s 4-3 upset of No. 3 Wake Forest on Friday night in the program’s opening match at the Arrillaga Tennis Center.

Fueled by a raucous crowd that remained enthusiastic for the nearly four-hour match, Stanford (15-7, 8-4 ACC) defeated its highest-ranked opponent of the season.

The thrilling ending against defending NCAA champion Wake Forest (25-3, 10-1 ACC) provided plenty of drama in Stanford’s debut at the Arrillaga Tennis Center, formerly known as Taube Family Tennis Stadium and site of the Cardinal’s last home match inside the venue back on April 7, 2024 against Utah.

The Arrillaga Tennis Center features 12 courts, over 12,410 square feet of team space and a spectator capacity of 1,005. A ceremony dedicating the new facility and ceremonial ribbon cutting took place prior to Stanford’s match against Wake Forest and after the Cardinal women’s tennis team defeated Virginia Tech 4-0 earlier in the afternoon.

Leach provided the heroics, ripping off five straight games after trailing 5-2 in the third set to claim a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4) victory over Joaquin Guilleme at the No. 6 spot.

Wake Forest claimed a hard-fought doubles point for a 1-0 lead, prevailing when Mees Rottgering and Kacper Szymkowiak outlasted Nico Godsick and Hudson Rivera 7-6 (3) on court two.

The Demon Deacons stretched their lead to 3-0 thanks to wins from Luca Pow (7-5, 6-0) at the No. 3 position and DK Suresh Ekambaram (6-4, 7-5) at the top spot.

The Cardinal continued to hang in the match and build momentum. Alex Razeghi’s 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) win provided the first point on court two.

Alex Chang (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) and Rivera (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) followed with three-set victories, evening the match at 3-3.

Leach then made it official with his rally to seal the victory in the first meeting between the schools since Wake Forest won in last year’s NCAA semifinals.

Stanford hosts NC State on Sunday, April 5, at 12 p.m. in its final home match of the regular season.

No. 25 Stanford 4, No. 3 Wake Forest 3

DOUBLES
1) No. 4 Delgado/Suresh (WAKE) d. No. 21 Chang/Razeghi (STAN) 7-5
2) Rottgering/Kacper Szymkowiak (WAKE) d. Godsick/Rivera (STAN) 7-6 (3)
3) Banerjee/Leach (STAN) d. No. 51 Pow/Robertson (WAKE) 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

SINGLES
1) No. 22 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WAKE) d. Samir Banerjee (STAN) 6-4, 7-5
2) Alex Razeghi (STAN) d. No. 46 Mees Rottgering (WAKE) 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2)
3) No. 28 Luca Pow (WAKE) d. Nico Godsick (STAN) 7-5, 6-0
4) No. 57 Hudson Rivera (STAN) d. Charlie Robertson (WAKE) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5) Alex Chang (STAN) d. No. 89 Aryan Shah (WAKE) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
6) Jagger Leach (STAN) d. Joaquin Guilleme (WAKE) 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 4, 6