The No 32 NC State men’s tennis team had a long weekend of play as they faced No. 33 Dartmouth Friday and No. 55 University of South Carolina and Bryant University Sunday.
It was a complete comeback for the Wolfpack (7-2, 0-0 ACC) after its 7-0 road loss to No. 25 Oklahoma earlier in the week. State won 5-2 against Dartmouth. It was the second win against a ranked opponent this season. The Pack swept both matches Sunday 5-2 against USC and 4-0 against Bryant.
“We are getting very solid play,” head coach Jon Choboy said. “The captains in particular are doing a good job.”
The win against Dartmouth was more than just about beating a ranked adversary, it was something 41 years in the making. The two teams had not played each other since 1975 when the Wolfpack had its first win against the Big Green. The record is now 5-2 with the Pack needing three more wins to settle the score.
State lost the doubles point to Dartmouth with losses on each court but came back with five singles wins. Three of those five were straight set wins.
Senior Simon Norenius won first against No 18 Dovydas Sakinis with classmate Thomas Weigel not far behind. Weigel fought from 3-0 behind to win his sixth straight game. Junior Nick Horton contributed with the third point for the Wolfpack.
It was freshman Ivan Saveljic that collected the win for State after both sets of singles matches ended in tiebreakers. His twin brother Igor won at the No. 6 singles position as well.
As the last few years have seen, matches between the University of South Carolina and NC State have gone down to the wire. The Gamecocks still lead the series 33-20 however the team was no match for the Wolfpack Sunday afternoon as NC State took the game 5-2. State clinched the doubles point for the first time in four matches.
Weigel had another comeback match ahead of him against the Gamecocks. The senior put up the winning point for the Pack with his 6-3, 7-5 win in singles.
“It feels good to win at a singles match but it is more important to win as a team,” Norenius said. “We played well today; everyone did.”
Norenius won against his second ranked opponent of the season making his ranked record 2-0.
State previously held a 1-0 (now a 2-0) advantage over the Bryant Bulldogs winning 4-0 in their first match last year. The Pack took the doubles point again against Bryant Sunday evening with Norenius/Horton and Weigel/Ogden winning their matches. The Saveljic twins lost a close match 4-6.
Norenius, Weigel and Horton won their singles matches in straight sets putting the Pack ahead of Bryant 4-0.
“Doubles was really good this morning; much better than it has been,” Choboy said.
After all day on the court, a shortened program kept the final score at 4-0.
The men will return to action Feb. 13 against Gardner Webb.
