The NC State men’s tennis team shook off a loss to Tennessee by dominating Virginia Tech 4-1 and NC Central 4-0 in J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on Sunday.
The Pack (9-3, 1-0 ACC) started the doubleheader off on the wrong foot, as it lost the doubles point to Virginia Tech (8-3, 0-1 ACC). Junior Alexis Galarneau and redshirt senior Michael Ogden lost to the 25th ranked duo of Henrik Korsgaard/Alex Ribeiro of Virginia Tech, while seniors Ivan Saveljic and Igor Saveljic lost to Jason Kros/Brandon Perez.
However, the Wolfpack would not drop another point for the rest of the match. Galarneau (6-2, 6-3), Igor Saveljic (7-5, 7-6) and sophomore Tadas Babelis (6-4, 6-3) won in straight sets. Freshman Yannai Barkai (5-7, 6-4, 6-3) then fought back after losing the first set of his match to put the Pack on top 4-1 and clinch the team’s first ACC win of the season.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” head coach Kyle Spencer told NC State athletics. “Virginia Tech gave us a good fight. They played a great doubles point, but we had four guys who came out during singles and were really on point mentally, physically and tactically.”
Against NC Central, the Wolfpack got a gift before the match started; NC Central only brought five players so sophomore Collin Shick won a singles point by default. NC State took care of business the rest of the night; between the three finished matches, the Pack won 30 games to NC Central’s seven.
In doubles, NC Central forfeited one match to the Wolfpack due to its shortage of players, and Galarneau/Barkai won 6-1 to seal the doubles point. In singles, Barkai won 6-3, 6-1 and Ivan Saveljic won 6-0, 6-2.
The doubleheader victories will serve as a morale boost to the Pack, as the team recently suffered a brutal 4-1 loss to Tennessee. The team, with a fresh wave of confidence, will face another strong opponent on March 4 when Pennsylvania takes on the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
“Moving forward, we’ve got a good week of practice ahead and prepare for a top-25 team in Penn,” Spencer said. “I’m excited for where the program is going, for where the guys are going. I feel like we’re improving all the time.”
