The No. 20 NC State men’s tennis team lost to No. 1 Texas Christian University 4-0, ending the Pack’s 2022 season in the Super Regional round of the 2022 NCAA Championships. 

Despite the 4-0 scoreline, NC State did not go quietly against the best team in the nation. After battling in the doubles round, the Wolfpack made the Horned Frogs fight on multiple courts in singles, but could not secure a match win before TCU clinched the overall match at 4-0.

To start, NC State took it right to TCU in the doubles round. However, TCU squashed the Pack’s early opposition by defeating junior Robin Catry and senior Yannai Barkai and the brother duo of redshirt freshman Braden Shick and graduate student Collin Shick. While the No. 54 pair of junior Martins Rocens and freshman Fons Van Sambeek were tied 6-6 on court one, the other two courts were claimed by TCU. 

NC State then suffered three singles losses to seal its fate in the Super Regional round. Sophomore Luca Staeheli, Rocens and senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque all lost in straight sets against their respective Horned Frog opponents. While the rest of the Pack’s lineup offered a glimmer of hope, TCU secured the match win quickly with the three singles wins. 

The remaining NC State players’ matches were left unfinished, all of which were battling in their second and third sets and looking to put the Pack on the board. Catry and Braden Shick’s matches were stopped in their third sets and freshman Damien Salvestre’s match was left unfinished in his second set.

With the loss to TCU, NC State’s season comes to a close, and while it did not end in ceremonious fashion, the Pack’s 2022 campaign was nonetheless successful after making it to the final sixteen teams in the NCAA Championships. 

With an impressive young core of players that have already shown just how much they can do in the 2022 season, the NC State men’s tennis team’s future is a bright one as this team continues to grow, compete and continue to rise through the ranks of college tennis.