Richard Schultz
As N.C. State prepares to regain its composure after losing to Clemson on April 7, sophomore Christian Welte said his team plans to focus on finding a better rhythm this weekend as the team closes out its regular season.
The No. 24 Wolfpack hosts the No. 25 Seminoles today at 2 p.m. and then the No. 33 Hurricanes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches are located at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
Since the team had nearly an entire week of preparation before the match, Welte said it would allow him plenty of time to prepare for the match.
“I will find a better rhythm in practice this week so I can take it to the match on Friday and Sunday,” Welte said on Monday.
The Wolfpack didn’t fare well on April 7 against the Tigers. It started off strong and earned the doubles point — the only point the team would earn on the day. Senior William Noblitt said the team was energized after the strong start, but the team fell apart in singles as State lost the match 6-1.
“I was a little frustrated that we had lost so quickly,” sophomore Jay Weinacker said of the three-set loss.
“I hadn’t played a lot of long matches. In the third set, I got frustrated in the beginning, and I kind of gave the guy the lead. Then by the time I calmed down and started coming back, it was a little late. It’s never good to lose, but hopefully we learned something from it.”
Weinacker said because it was the Tigers senior day, they played with a little more emotion.
But, Welte said the team is ready to avenge its loss from nearly a week ago. He said the team needs to be ready to play during singles competition.
“We got to come out there and be a little more fired up and be a little more energized during singles,” Welte said.
While Welte said the team needs to be fired up and energetic going into the match, Weinacker said it’s important for State to come out mentally prepared and ready to strike when the opportunity presents itself.
“As a team we need to get a little more tougher and be ready because all the ACC teams are going to come at you. So we just have to be ready to defend when they come at us and take our chances to attack them when we get the opportunity,” Weinacker said.