The No. 58 N.C. State men’s tennis team will host a pair of matches over the weekend starting today against No. 70 Northwestern, followed by a match Saturday against South Carolina. 

The Wolfpack (4-3) is undefeated at home and is coming off a 2-3 road trip to kick off the ITA.  The road trip ended with a win at Penn State University.

The Northwestern team carries a 4-1 record into Raleigh after suffering its first loss of the season, a 7-0 sweep to Princeton University.  

“I haven’t played Northwestern before so I don’t want to put pressure on the team by saying that we will win, but if everyone brings their ‘A’ game, we have a really good chance of being successful,” sophomore Dave Thomson said, who is currently ranked 106th in the nation.

The team plays at 4 p.m. Friday and will have a light practice on Saturday before taking on South Carolina at noon on Sunday.

Saturday’s practice will give the team the opportunity to prepare for the Gamecocks and make any mental or physical adjustments, using Friday’s game as a fresh reference.

“It’s important to remember Friday, to remember things you did well and to remember any mistakes you made, to try to keep doing the good things right and try to make up for any mistakes,” junior Dominic Hodgson said, who is ranked 82nd in the nation. “Overall, we try to take it one match at a time. Mentally you just have to go into each day and match the same as the last, with a clear head and ready to win.”

On Sunday the Wolfpack will face a South Carolina team that is coming off a successful weekend in which it improved its record to 3-4 by winning both matches of a doubleheader.

“I played South Carolina last year and we lost 4-3 in a real tight one so we’re looking to get revenge on Sunday,” Hodgson said. “But first we have to take care of Northwestern.”

Sunday presents an opportunity for some of the players to avenge last season’s defeat to the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C.

“This time last year, I was defeated in the deciding match and we lost 4-3. I have learned from that and I’m looking to get my revenge,” Thomson said. ”I hold grudges and even if it’s not the same guy, it’s on our home court and I get a good chance to go out there and make them remember me.”

The Wolfpack is undefeated at home and look for that to continue this weekend.

 ”We know our courts and we don’t have to worry about any obnoxious away fans and we will have our own fan support,” Hodgson said. “We took a lot of heat in South Carolina so us and our fans are ready to give it back to them.”