As freshman James McGee’s match entered a tie-braking third set, a new look of focus and drive washed over his face. After winning the first set 6-4 and narrowly losing the second 7-6, he was not going to let this one slip away.
“Get back to your game,” Louisville men’s tennis coach Rex Ecarma said to his player, as McGee stormed back in the second set from being down 5-2 to being tied 6-6. McGee, playing as No. 2 in singles, kept his opponent off his game in the third and picked up the win for N.C. State. That summed up the day for the visiting Cardinals as they could not get on their game, or the scoreboard, against the No. 36 Wolfpack, which won 7-0.
The team’s No. 1 singles player, junior Nick Cavaday, continued his streak of beating ranked opponents and making a case to move up the rankings as he knocked off No. 40 Slavko Radman in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Wednesday against Old Dominion, Cavaday had pulled off an upset of the No. 8 singles player in the nation in a third-set tie-break.
“Nick has knocked off three ranked opponents in the last four matches. He just needs to continue to make wins, keep taking care of business, and his ranking will go up,” coach Jon Choboy said. “He has always made big wins — it isn’t new for him.”
Choboy also said Cavaday’s performances so far can only help his preseason ranking improve.
“By the next rankings, he should break into the top 30,” the coach said of Cavaday, still undefeated in singles this spring.
The Sunday afternoon started off with doubles matches and the Pack earning the doubles point as it won two of three doubles matches. The Pack has won the doubles point every match this year and has its top two doubles teams ranked in the top 35 in the country. Cavaday and junior Ben Zink made up the No. 1 doubles pair for State, and they posted a dominating 8-4 win. McGee teamed up with sophomore Jay Weinacker, who also won in singles, to also turn in a resounding victory, 8-5.
Choboy said he was pleased with his team after an emotional loss Wednesday to No. 56 Old Dominion.
“When a good team loses a match and does things incorrectly, they will correct them. We learned a few things and did a better job [than Wednesday] with our energy and attitudes,” he said. “The team didn’t necessarily play great tennis, but the guys adapted and found a way to win.”
William Noblitt, Andre Iriarte and Christian Welte also beat their Cardinal opponents in straight sets. Iriarte improved to 10-0 in singles play, and Welte stayed undefeated in singles play with his ninth win of the year.
The bottom three spots of the lineup have been an especially strong point this year, losing only five times through 10 matches as opposed to 25 victories. The Pack has yet to lose in the No. 1 spot for singles this year, with Cavaday, McGee and Welte competing so far in the No. 1 spot.
The Pack is back in action Saturday as it hosts the Naval Academy at 10 a.m. and Charlotte at 2 p.m.