The No. 20 NC State men’s tennis squad took down the Liberty Flames 4-0 to begin its 2022 NCAA Championship run on Friday, May 6. 

The Wolfpack earned the right to host in the first two rounds of the tournament this weekend in Raleigh due to its impressive form displayed throughout the season. NC State was able to roll through Liberty’s lineup, quickly winning the doubles round and three singles matches to blank the Flames and advance to the second round of the NCAA Championships. 

The No. 54 pairing of junior Martins Rocens and freshman Fons Van Sambeek got the party started early with their 6-2 win on court one in the doubles round. The brother duo of redshirt freshman Braden Shick and graduate student Collin Shick secured the second court needed to earn the point. As the Shicks won 6-4 on court three, NC State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. 

Freshman Damien Salvestre took no time in adding to the lead when he beat his Liberty opponent in a dominant win on court four. Salvestre took the match 6-3, 6-2, continuing his important and impressive singles play that he has consistently displayed throughout the season. 

Next to claim victory was Rocens, who secured a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win on court three. Despite Rocens’ opponent taking him to tiebreak in the first set, the junior found his rhythm in his strong second set, putting NC State in position to clinch at 3-0. 

The final Wolfpack win of the day came from senior singles specialist Rafa Izquierdo Luque, who battled his way through a three-set win to advance NC State. Luque took the first and third sets in the court one battle, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, ending the first round competition at 4-0. 

Due to play being stopped, three matches were left unfinished. Junior Robin Catry’s match was abandoned after two intense first sets that both ended in tiebreakers, while Van Sambeek and Braden Shick’s matches were left unfinished after both had leads over their respective opponents. 

With this hot start in the NCAA Championships, the NC State men’s tennis squad will next face off with No. 19 Middle Tennessee, who won its first round in Raleigh this weekend, earning a chance to play the Pack. While NC State is an even 6-6 this season against ranked opponents, this team has shown that it can beat the best teams before, and will look to do so again against Middle Tennessee and beyond in the upcoming rounds of the tournament. 

NC State and the Blue Raiders are set to face off on Saturday, May 7, at 4 p.m. for a chance to advance in the NCAA Championships.