The No. 20 NC State men’s tennis team dominated No. 19 Duke 4-0 as the Pack beat the Blue Devils to start out its rivalry weekend on Friday, April 15.
In the Pack’s second to last game of the regular season, NC State was able to bring impressive performances all around to earn its fifth ranked win of the season against one of its cross-town rivals. Now 17-7 on the season, the Wolfpack has won five out of its six last conference matches as the squad improves to 6-5 in ACC play.
Winning the opening doubles point, as well as three singles matches in straight sets, gave the Pack the impressive win. At four wins in a row, the Wolfpack has heated up at the end of its season and showed it by dominating the Blue Devils.
“Yeah, I mean, every day is a little bit different, but today we actually played pretty well on most of the courts,” said head coach Kyle Spencer. “And I think our level of competition was super high. I think the guys had a great focus, had a good game plan. They knew what they wanted to do, and executed for the most part pretty well across the board.”
The Wolfpack came out strong in the doubles round. The No. 38 pairing of junior Robin Catry and sophomore Luca Staeheli won 6-2 and while Duke and NC State battled on court two, it was redshirt freshman Braden Shick and graduate student Collin Shick who took court three 6-3 to put the Pack up 1-0 early on.
The Pack only needed three singles wins to earn victory in the clinch match and the singles lineup delivered. First to win in the late round was No. 101 Catry who handily beat his opponent 6-3, 6-1.
Next to down their Blue Devil opponent was freshman Damien Salvestre, winning 6-3, 6-2. In clinch position at 3-0, senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque finished off the Pack’s flawless 4-0 win with his 6-2, 6-2 win on court four. After battling injuries all season long, Izquierdo Luque returned in strong fashion and his strong win was emblematic of the Wolfpack’s overall performance against Duke.
“Yeah, I think today we played an unbelievable match,” said Izquierdo Luque. “We started with a lot of energy, and I think we played the right way, with very good quality. We’re very happy with the performance.”
Multiple members of the Pack were left stranded on their courts due to the Pack’s quick clinch. Junior Martins Rocens and Staeheli won their respective first sets when play was stopped and Shick was down in his second set when play ended.
With another ranked rival on the horizon in No. 18 UNC Chapel Hill, the Pack looks to carry this impressive form to its final match of the season. But just like NC State, the Tar Heels have been playing well as of late, ensuring an entertaining clash between the rival schools.
“You know, I think the good good teams are just kind of getting going, you know, and playing their best tennis at the end,” Earnshaw said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on and that’s what we want to be doing, and today was another step forward for that.”
The Wolfpack celebrates senior day and faces the Tar Heels on Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m. in Raleigh.
