Coming off a win against No. 22 Tennessee, the No. 25 NC State Men’s tennis team will open conference play Wednesday at 4 p.m. against No. 8 UNC-Chapel Hill at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (10-1, 0-0 ACC) started the season hot with nine straight wins before suffering its first loss at the hands of the 10th-ranked Texas Longhorns on March 2. The Pack didn’t let the loss get it down though, as it bounced back and managed to defeat No. 22 Tennessee in Knoxville a week later.
The match against UNC (11-3, 2-0 ACC) will be the Wolfpack’s third straight top-25 matchup. This stretch comprises the toughest part of the schedule, as the Pack, which has already faced two ranked teams in a row, will face four ranked teams in its next six games. The ACC is one of the top conferences in men’s tennis right now with six teams ranked in the top 25.
Last year’s matchup against UNC, which took place in Chapel Hill, did not go well for the Wolfpack. The Pack started strong and took the first doubles match from the No. 17 ranked duo from UNC, but was unable to win any more matches and lost the match by a score of 7-0.
This time around is different though, as the Wolfpack has improved in all aspects of the game and sits at 10-1 instead of the 9-7 record it had last year when opening ACC play.
The Tar Heels have lost three games so far this season, with two coming against top-five teams in the country and the third coming from Texas, who the Wolfpack lost to as well. The Heels are consistently a great team and haven’t dropped more than five games since the 2014-15 season. They are going to be looking to keep that streak going this year with the top-ranked player in William Blumberg, who is coming off a stunning loss last week against Duke. The Tar Heels also have local Raleigh product Blaine Boyden who attended Wakefield High, and is currently undefeated on the season with a perfect 11-0 record.
With how great the Heels’ single play has been, the Wolfpack will need to take advantage of its doubles play and look to secure that point. It will be a battle in singles, but the Wolfpack has the talent to pull off an upset, and the added motivation of a rivalry game won’t hurt.
