The red-hot NC State men’s tennis team is gearing up for its next step in the 2022 season as the squad prepares to compete in the ACC Championship starting Wednesday, April 20, in Rome, Georgia.
Finishing the regular season at 17-8 overall, the Wolfpack landed at an even .500 in conference play at 6-6. While the Pack struggled against its tough ACC competition in the middle of the season, NC State has recently put on multiple stellar performances against conference opponents. This resurgence earned the Pack a return to the top 25 after falling out of the rankings in March.
Starting Sunday, April 3 with a victory against Notre Dame, the Pack won four in a row, all against conference opponents. The last of those victories saw perhaps NC State’s best tennis all season against Duke, not just beating, but dominating the Blue Devils 4-0 in the first leg of its two rivalry weekend matches. Despite the Pack’s close 4-3 loss to UNC Chapel Hill just a couple days after, NC State is still playing its best tennis heading into the postseason.
The Wolfpack’s late-season surge in singles and doubles play has earned it the No. 6 spot in the tournament. While NC State will have to barrel through the multiple ACC heavyweights in the later rounds, the Pack’s current form proves promising for a potential tournament run.
The Pack’s first match includes a faceoff with 11th-seeded Virginia Tech, which the Pack have already beaten this season. On March 27, the Pack traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia and quickly downed the Hokies 4-1, winning the doubles point and three straight-set singles matches. This will once again be NC State’s formula for success, winning the all-important doubles round, but also three more singles matches in order to clinch as fast as possible.
While this may prove successful against teams like Virginia Tech, NC State will have to fight tooth and nail for its singles matches in the subsequent rounds. Waiting for the Pack on Friday, April 22 will be the Tar Heels, where the cross-town rivals could have a highly-anticipated rematch after the pair’s intense matchup to close out the regular season. The Heels managed to beat the Pack 4-3 in that one, but both sides were deadlocked in the season finale. NC State got the better of the Heels earlier in the season, however, winning 4-3 in Chapel Hill. Long and competitive points were a mainstay throughout both matches and will no doubt be any different in a potential third matchup.
If the Pack can claw past UNC, there won’t be any shortage of ACC powerhouses in the semifinal and final rounds. With second-seeded Wake Forest being a potential matchup for NC State in the semifinal, the other side of the bracket features top-seeded Virginia as well as Louisville and Duke. While the Wolfpack beat Duke handily this year, Wake Forest, Miami and Louisville combined to give NC State three of its six conference losses in the regular season. If the Pack can manage to string together wins in the first two matches of the tournament however, there is no reason this squad couldn’t make a deep run for the conference championship.
NC State’s improved form in recent weeks is due to a consistent streak of high-level play. On the doubles side, the Pack has won the early round in five of its last six matches and will look to keep that going in the ACC Championship. With two of its doubles pairings ironed out and nationally ranked, NC State poses a threat to anyone contesting the doubles point. The No. 58 pair of junior Martins Rocens and freshman Fons Van Sambeek play court one and are followed by the No. 38 ranked duo of junior Robin Catry and sophomore Luca Staeheli on court two. While head coach Kyle Spencer is likely to play these two pairs, the third court is up in the air. That being said, it is likely that redshirt freshman Braden Shick will be paired with a team veteran for the third court, following the formula from recent weeks.
For singles, senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque has been reintroduced to the lineup after battling injuries for multiple weeks of the season. Izquierdo Luque is set to lead the Pack at the first spot in singles, while Rocens will likely follow him at number two. While the rest of the Pack’s lineup has been flexible in the past, four of the younger players in the Pack’s roster — Catry, Staeheli, Van Sambeek and freshman Damien Salvestre — have all been stalwarts of the Wolfpack’s singles lineup. Salvestre, Staeheli, Van Sambeek and Shick, have been instrumental to the Pack’s success all season long. If NC State’s young core can deliver like it has recently, the Wolfpack’s chances of success in the tournament rise significantly.
Winning the doubles point and using a young roster of talented singles players will be key to knocking down opponents in the ACC Championship. While the competition is steep, NC State is sure to do everything in its power to capitalize on the momentum from the end of the regular season. With potential matches against rivals, as well as conference glory on the line, the Pack will look to prove what it can do against the many tennis powerhouses that make up the ACC.
NC State is set to face Virginia Tech on Thursday, April 21, at 12:30 p.m. in Rome, Georgia to kick off its run in the 2022 ACC Championship.
