The No. 24 NC State men’s tennis team narrowly fell 4-3 to the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 4 in a match that went down to the wire.
The Wolfpack (3-2) and Bulldogs (4-0) were tied 3-3 late in the match, but freshman Damien Salvestre came up short in his clinch attempt for the Pack.
“Tough one tonight,” said head coach Kyle Spencer. “I’m proud of the guys. It was a big fight, and we knew it would be. Started off well with getting the doubles, and every court was a battle. We came up a little short.”
Salvestre’s match would decide the match overall, giving the Bulldogs the victory. This was not without a fight from Salvestre, however. After losing the first set, he managed to bring the second set to an intense tiebreak and after exchanging points back and forth in a tense bout, he ultimately fell 6-2, 7-6 (12-10).
After the first set of singles courts were finished, the Wolfpack was down 3-2 and needed both Salvestre and sophomore Braden Shick to step up, and while Salvestre fell just short, Shick secured a solid 6-4, 6-3 victory that tied the match at 3-3.
“I had a little bit of a slow start,” Shick said. “But I managed to pick it up and really play well to take the first set, and I kept the gas on to the finish.”
With hotly contested doubles matches on all three courts, the Bulldogs took the first doubles court before NC State won the two remaining doubles matches, the first coming from the top doubles pairing of senior Yannai Barkai and graduate student Collin Shick winning 6-1. Shortly after, junior Robin Catry and sophomore Luca Staeheli closed out their 6-2 victory, giving the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead.
NC State’s remaining point came from senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque on the first singles court. After closely winning his first set, he would drop the second, but ultimately emerge with the three-set 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2 win.
Early losses on courts two, three and four of singles resulted in the Bulldogs earning their first three points. Junior Martins Rocens took his opponent to three sets, but ultimately fell 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, while Staeheli lost 6-4, 7-6 (7-0). Catry delivered an energy-filled performance, but unforced errors led to a 6-1, 7-5 loss.
This is the third ranked match in a row for the Wolfpack and while losing its last two matches, it is evident that it has the potential to get the job done.
“We’re getting a lot of opportunities playing so many ranked teams,” Shick said. “I think we have the level against every single one, but we’re just not quite getting over the edge. Hopefully we can get over the hump in the next couple of matches.”
The Pack has a chance to rebound on Sunday, Feb. 6 against another ranked opponent, No. 25 UCF.
