Just a couple days removed from its thrilling 4-1 victory over No. 13 UNC-Chapel Hill on the road, No. 23 NC State men’s tennis came back down to earth in a 5-2 loss against the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils in Durham.
NC State (12-7, 6-2 ACC) couldn’t replicate its performance in Chapel Hill against its other rival in blue, falling to Duke (15-5, 8-1 ACC) after only winning one singles match for its second conference loss of the season.
Much like its match against the Heels, NC State captured the early doubles point with some clutch play towards the end of the round. After redshirt sophomore Braden Shick and sophomore Fons Van Sambeek got a solid 6-2 win on court three, the Pack needed one more court to gain the 1-0 lead.
Both of NC State’s remaining pairs took their opponents to the brink, and while the No. 27 pair of senior Robin Catry and junior Luca Staeheli fell 7-5, the No. 40 pair of fifth-year senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque and sophomore Joseph Wayand clutched out a 7-6 (7-1) win on court two.
But just because the Pack earned the crucial doubles point doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing in singles. In fact, it was quite the opposite. By the end of the match, NC State only won one singles match as the Blue Devils nearly pulled off a singles sweep.
Duke downed Shick and No. 52 Izquierdo Luque in quick succession on courts three and one, respectively. Both players couldn’t get much on the board in terms of score and each ultimately fell in straight sets against their opponents.
Down 2-1, NC State did its best to fight back and got its second and final point of the day courtesy of freshman Martin Borisiouk, who claimed a 6-4, 6-1 win on court six. However, his win was the lone highlight of an overall dismal singles round for the Pack.
Duke then proceeded to win the final three matches to finish off the win. Van Sambeek was defeated in three sets on court five, and Catry suffered the same fate on court four, sealing the win for the Blue Devils. Duke got the better of NC State on the final court as well by downing No. 73 Staeheli in a three-setter.
NC State will resume action against Virginia Tech on Friday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. in Raleigh where the Pack looks to get back in the win column against the Hokies.
