There was an air of dèjá vu at Cary Tennis Park on Friday night.
It blew through the park when No. 5 NC State men’s tennis fell in the early doubles point, it thickened as No. 19 Duke’s momentum slowly grew and it choked the throats of the red-and-white as senior Fons Van Sambeek fell in his third and final, match-deciding set.
No matter how hard Van Sambeek and the rest of the Wolfpack tried, they couldn’t shake the déjà vu. More importantly they couldn’t fight against their unrelenting, daunting history in the ACC Tournament, a history that most prominently features what has now become four-straight losses in the quarterfinals of the conference championships on the same exact courts in Cary.
Despite a heroic singles surge from the Wolfpack to try to stave off an upset loss, NC State fell 4-3 to the rival Blue Devils in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 ACC Tournament in yet another heart-wrenching postseason loss.
Akin to the Pack’s loss to Wake Forest in the 2023 quarterfinals, the Wolfpack battled under the lights in Cary, only to be upset by their in-state rival.
This go-round, the Blue Devils had the Pack’s number, claiming the doubles point via two quick wins on Courts 1 and 2. Senior Braden Shick and Van Sambeek fell 6-4 while senior Luca Staeheli and redshirt freshman Jules Leroux fell 6-2.
Needing to win four singles matches to punch its ticket to its first ACC Semifinal match in five years, NC State fought tooth and nail on every court in singles, pushing Duke to the brink in every match. Redshirt freshman William Manning took the first win of the round, beating Duke’s Jake Krug 6-2, 6-2 on Court 6.
While Staeheli conquered Duke’s Andreja Petrovic on Court 3, NC State lost all other first sets in the singles round. Needing match reversals on at least two courts, the Pack found those turnarounds on Courts 1, 4 and 5, with junior Martin Borisiouk falling to Cooper Williams 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 on Court 2.
After suffering a 6-1 first set loss, Shick battled Duke superstar Pedro Rodenas on Court 1. In one of his best matches ever played, Shick stormed back, beating Rodenas 7-5, 6-3 in the final two sets to add a tally to his team’s score.
While Leroux fiercely battled Duke’s Connor Krug on Court 5, the redshirt freshman ultimately fell in three sets, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Shick’s win and Leroux’s loss left it all up to Van Sambeek on Court 4, who was just beginning his third and final set to decide the match and the Wolfpack’s fate.
However, with the chance to break the seemingly irreversible history of postseason disappointments, Van Sambeek was edged out by Remi Dugardin in a must-see third set.
Despite Van Sambeek’s urge to fight and will to win, NC State couldn’t overcome the Blue Devils, or fate, in the ACC Tournament.
The Wolfpack’s postseason run isn’t over, however. It will play and host in the NCAA Tournament two weeks in Raleigh, with opponents set to be determined.
