N.C. State played its final home match yesterday against No. 33 Miami at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. After losing 5-2 on Friday against No. 25 Florida State, the Wolfpack defeated Miami 4-3 during Sunday’s match.
What made this day special, according to a few of the players, was that it was Senior Day for William Noblitt and Andre Iriarte.
Iriarte said this being his last home match hasn’t hit him yet.
“I’m pretty sure tomorrow when I wake up I’m going to be like, ‘Wow, that was my last match,’ and then it’s going to hit me,” Iriarte said. “Right now it doesn’t feel strange or anything. It’s kind of disappointing in the same way because it went by so fast.”
The Pack did not have a good start to the match. Miami opened the match by winning the doubles point. For the Wolfpack, only freshman James McGee and sophomore Jay Weinacker won their match, defeating Vivek Subramanian and Daniel Vallverdu, 8-3.
State turned it around during singles play. McGee was the first to win his match, defeating Subramanian 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4. Then Weinacker followed, winning his match against Josh Cohen, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3. Junior Nick Cavaday, ranked No. 61, lost his match to No. 20 Luigi DiArgord 6-3, 6-3, at No. 1. Noblitt, letting all of his emotion show on the court, won his match against No. 55 Vallverdu 6-4, 6-4. Iriarte secured the win for the Pack by defeating J.C. Whitner 6-0, 6-2.
Noblitt said the match felt a little bit different than all the others he played.
“It was a good match. I’m not feeling 100 percent, but I dug around and gave it everything I had,” Noblitt said. “It was really different today because it was my last time. I think everybody feels a little differently.”
This is the first time in N.C. State tennis history the team recorded back-to-back 20-win season. State also had five wins in the ACC, second most in school history. This was also the first time the Pack had defeated Miami. State is now 1-7 against the Hurricanes.
Coach Jon Choboy talked about how the team rallied back from losing the doubles point.
“The two seniors played really, really well today. I think that they were actually determined not to lose,” Choboy said. “Everyone up and down the line, one through six, everybody played with a lot of energy — a lot of positive enthusiasm. You can see where we weren’t panicking on the points we missed. This was the first time all year that one through six played with accountability. This is a good team.”
As for the seniors, Choboy had nothing but positive things to say about Noblitt and Iriarte.
” They’re my first two seniors that I’ve recruited here, so there is a little special spot for those two guys,” Choboy said. “I’ve watched those two kids grow up throughout the last four years with this program both on the court and off the court. Academically they have both done very well.
“These are two really, really good kids — two kids that are very, very much the quality of people that I really want to have on this program to represent N.C. State. They play fair; they play really hard, and they love N.C. State. The younger guys have learned a lot from them, and I think it will make them better down the road.”
After the match, Iriarte reflected back on what he thought about when he was coming to State.
“When I was a freshman, I didn’t really know what to expect, as for tennis or school,” Iriarte said. “But after my first year, I kind of had a picture. I didn’t really think it was going to go quick or anything. People always say, ‘It’s going to go fast; enjoy it while you can.’ I didn’t really pay attention to that. Now, just thinking about it, yeah, it went by fast.”
Noblitt said he’s had an amazing experience at State.
“Its been the best four years of my life,” Noblitt said. “Good experiences with the coaches and its been great getting to know all these guys. I’ve had a lot of fun, and I’m going to miss it next year. It’s been good.”
