Emma Dimig // Archive
Sophomore Tadas Babelis, playing second seed in singles against South Carolina, returns the ball at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9. The men's tennis team lost their match against the Gamecocks 6-1, returning later in the day to beat the North Carolina A&T Aggies 7-0.
The NC State men’s tennis team will be playing close to home this weekend. The ITA Carolina Regional will be hosted at Carolina Tennis Park, with the tournament starting play on Oct. 18 and ending play on Oct. 22.
This is an important tournament for the Pack, as this is the last tournament in which the team can qualify for the 2019 Oracle ITA Fall Championships. That tournament will be hosted in Newport Beach, California from November 6-10.
Sophomore Tadas Babelis and freshman Yannai Barkai will look to continue their strong season this weekend. On Sept. 23, both players won the doubles championship at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. Barkai and Babelis went 5-0 at the tournament and even defeated two nationally ranked duo opponents in their run to the championship.
The Wolfpack played in its last tournament at the ITA All-American Championships. Babelis and Barkai played well as they made an improbable run to the main doubles draw.
The performance was good enough to earn them an automatic bid to the main draw of the national tournament. So far, Barkai and Babelis have gone 8-2 in doubles matches, even knocking out three nationally-ranked opponents.
The duo will look to carry that momentum into this weekend. Last year, the Pack had a duo team advance to the semifinals of the Carolina Regional. Barkai and Babelis will look to take home the duo title this weekend.