The No. 21 men’s tennis team enters its conference opener today boasting its highest ranking of the season after upsetting then-No. 16 Southern Alabama this past weekend. The Wolfpack (15-2) will host No. 12 Wake Forest (12-1) today at 2 p.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
The Pack competed in the Blue Gray Classic this weekend in Montgomery, Ala., and went 2-1, defeating Southern Alabama and No. 42 William & Mary and losing a decisive 4-3 match to No. 14 Alabama.
According to graduate Daniel Schinke, the team feels extremely confident after this weekend’s performance.
“We were pretty confident already,” Schinke said. “We played Alabama, ranked 12, and lost very close to them. And one day later, we keep our heads up, and we beat South Alabama is ranked No. 16 in the nation. So that’s pretty tough coming back from a loss and we’re very confident in beating Wake Forest.”
One change the tournament brought forth emerged in No. 1 doubles play. Junior Nick Cavaday, who normally competes with fellow junior Ben Zink, recently began competing with senior William Noblitt. The duo has remained undefeated, knocking off three ranked opponents in this past weekend’s invitational and earning themselves the No. 11 national doubles ranking in this week’s ITA/Fila poll.
“They play really well for each other,” coach Jon Choboy said. “They really don’t want to let each other down out there. So, there’s a lot of respect that they have for each other. That’s part of why they’re winning is they don’t want to let each other down. They’re going to stay together for sure.”
According to Choboy, the team has consistently performed well in earning doubles point. His concern, however, is that the Pack finishes matches with the intensity that it begins them.
“You can’t get away from what makes you successful and what you train yourself to do every day,” Choboy said. “When you’re winning, you might play a little conservative, or you might play not to lose. We have to play to win from the beginning to the end.”
The match will be the first of 11 conference matches for State, as each team will play each other only once. The team’s 15-2 record will go on the line as 8 of the 12 ACC teams are ranked in the top 40.
Of all of the ranked ACC teams, Wake Forest’s No. 12 national ranking is the highest. Choboy said he is well aware of what the Deacons are capable of.
“We know quite a bit about them,” Choboy said. “I know all of their players. I’ve seen them all play in college. I’ve seen them all play in Juniors [as far as] the new guys. They’re very, very good. They’re having a good year, and I expect it to be a tough match.”
Choboy said he feels this year’s team has depth and passion unlike any other team in his tenure at N.C. State. If State continues to play with the intensity it has thus far, Choboy said, it should be tough to beat.
“We’re there,” Choboy said. “We’re just going to try and go out there and execute and play with good energy. But it’s just going to be a war. It’s gonna be a war for whoever wins either way.”
Projected Starters
N.C. StateDoubles1. No. 11 Nick Cavaday/William Noblitt2. James McGee/Jay Weinacker3. Christian Welte/Ben Zink
Singles1. No. 38 Jr. Nick Cavaday2. Fr. James McGee3. Sr. Andre Iriarte4. Sr. William Noblitt5. So. Jay Weinacker6. So. Christian Welte
Wake ForestDoubles1. No. 25 Todd Paul/Mariusz Adamski2. Charles Sartor/Cory Parr3. Andrew Brasseaux/Andrew Hamar
Singles1. No.7 Todd Paul2. No. 74 Cory Parr3. Mariusz Adamski4. Andrew Hamar5. Steve Forman6. Jason Morgenstern