The No. 42 NC State men’s tennis team suffered a heartbreaking loss to the No. 43 Notre Dame on senior day at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
The Wolfpack (17-13, 5-7 ACC) lost 6-1 in the final regular season match to the Fighting Irish (14-12, 6-6 ACC) before ACC tournament play begins later next week. The loss may have a significant effect on ACC seeding and NCAA selection. While the two teams are ranked similarly, Notre Dame now has an advantage after coming off a three-game winning streak prior to this match.
Before the match, Wolfpack seniors Simon Norenius and Thomas Weigel were honored on the court. The two, ranked No. 49 and 89 in the singles ITA polls respectively, have become a dynamic doubles duo to be reckoned with and are ranked No. 54 in the nation as a pair. Both are in the top 10 for total singles wins and top 11 for doubles wins in school history. Weigel needs two more wins to match the school record for most wins in a dual season.
State isn’t the only team looking to fill the shoes of the seniors; Notre Dame will say goodbye to five members of its lineup at the end of the season.
“It never feels good to lose,” Norenius said. “I feel sad that it’s our last home match, but we have ACC now to focus on. I’m looking forward to that.”
Norenius collected the single point for NC State against Notre Dame, which was his 25th win of the year and 18th for the spring season. He is close to being eligible for NCAA play as an individual.
“I’ve changed a lot,” Norenius said about his time at State. “The coach of Notre Dame just told me that I’ve improved every match since freshman year. I’ve gotten better as I’ve worked harder and harder.”
Weigel put up a fight against his opponent No. 32 Quentin Monaghan but couldn’t pull it off despite what looked like a comeback in the second set of singles.
Junior Nick Horton and his partner, sophomore Michael Ogden, came close to overcoming their doubles opponents but were cut short after the other courts finished first. Notre Dame clinched the doubles point, starting their lead off early. They continued to dominate with five out of the six courts taking first set victories.
“We have to go out on the court and just really want to win,” Norenius said. “We can do that by working hard in practice.”
ACC play begins Thursday in Cary, and it looks like NC State will face off against Clemson in the first round.
Clemson (15-13, 5-7 ACC) has just come off a high from winning against No. 64 Duke in a 4-3 thriller Friday. Duke clinched the doubles point and two singles points, but it was Clemson’s comeback singles courts that took home the win. Junior Robert Dudley collected the winning point for Clemson and will be a player to watch in the State matchup.
NC State holds a 4-3 record against the Tigers this season and will look to make it 5-3 after this match.
Whichever team — Clemson or NC State — wins Thursday will move on to face No. 1 Virginia in the next round. After the ACC tournament, the team hopes to move on to NCAA play.
