A day after posting an upset over 13th-ranked Virginia Commonwealth, the 31st-ranked University of Minnesota men's tennis team saw its record vs. ranked opponents fall to 2-2 with a 5-1 loss today to No. 26 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Golden Gophers (5-2) went 1-4 in singles play and 0-3 in doubles action to finish their road trip with a 1-1 record.

The Demon Deacons opened the dual with a sweep of the three doubles matches. Mariusz Adamski and Todd Paul got WF started at No. 1 with an 8-4 win over D.J. Geatz and Sion Wilkins, while Andrew Brasseaux and Andrew Hamar clinched the doubles point by downing Andres Osorio and Chi Pham, 8-5. Wake Forest completed the sweep with Cory Parr and Charles Santor edging Mikey Kantar and Raoul Schwark 9-8.

Wake Forest used two straight-set wins and a trio of three-set victories to cruise to the dual win. After a quick win at No. 6, fourth-ranked Todd Paul pushed the Deacons' lead to 3-0 with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over 77th-ranked Andres Osorio. WF clinched the dual with Adamski's 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Kantar and Steven Forman's 6-7, 7-6, (10-5) triumph over Nich Edlefsen. The Maroon and Gold got the lone win of the day at No. 2 as 58th-ranked Schwark out-lasted Parr, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3).

"It was a tough match against a good team," Minnesota Head Coach Geoff Young said. "We need to continue to get our doubles playing better. If we would have won the doubles point, the dynamic of the match coming down to the wire would have been different. But our guys fought hard."

The Golden Gophers stay on the road next weekend, opening the Big Ten season at Michigan State on Sat. Feb. 17, at 12 p.m.

#31 Minnesota at #26 Wake Forest
Feb. 11, 2007
Winston-Salem, N.C.

Singles
1. #4 Todd Paul (WF) def. #77 Andres Osorio (MN), 6-0, 6-4
2. #58 Raoul Schwark (MN) def. Cory Parr (WF), 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
3. D.J. Geatz (MN) led Andrew Hamar (WF), 6-4, 4-4, abd.
4. Mariusz Adamski (WF) def. Mikey Kantar (MN), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Steven Forman (WF) def. Nich Edlefsen (MN), 6-7, 7-6, (10-5)
6. Jason Morgenstern (WF) def. Sion Wilkins (MN), 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. Adamski/Paul (WF) def. Geatz/Wilkins (MN), 8-4
2. Parr/Charles Sartor (WF) def. Kantar/Schwark (MN), 9-8
3. Andrew Brasseaux/Hamar (WF) def. Osorio/Chi Pham (MN), 8-5

#26 Wake Forest def. #31 Minnesota, 5-1