The No. 25 NC State men’s tennis team fell to the No. 10 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 7-0 in the last regular-season match of the season.
The Wolfpack (10-7, 7-3) lost the doubles point and all six singles points against the Demon Deacons (26-5, 11-1 ACC).
“I thought the guys played really hard today,” said head coach Kyle Spencer. “They fought really hard… Doubles didn’t go our way, and then in singles we had a lot of close sets and just weren’t able to get over the hump in some of the matches. With having the break—we had about a 10-day break—there was a little bit of rust out there. I’m really looking forward to next week and the ACC Championship.”
In doubles, seniors Robert Turzak and Collin Shick fell 6-1 and senior Tadas Babelis and junior Yannai Barkai fell 6-4 as the Deacs took the early lead. After that was decided, fifth-year Alexis Galarneau and sophomore Robin Catry finished their match with a 6-4 win for the Pack’s only match win of the day.
“Last time I played with [Catry] was against Texas last year, so we had some good vibes from that last time we played,” Galarneau said. “A new pairing is always exciting. We returned it really well, and we also served out well in the important moments.”
In singles, Babelis fell first in straight sets 2-6, 3-6, putting the Deacs up 2-0. Redshirt junior Joseph Schrader fell next 4-6, 4-6, and Shick fell 1-6, 5-7 as the Deacs won the fourth point and clinched the match.
With the match decided, the two teams played out the rest of the match. Catry fell 6-7, 3-6, Turzak fell 4-6, 5-7 and Barkai fell 6-2, 1-6, 3-6 as the Deacs completed the clean sweep.
This was the Pack’s first match since March 28 after a COVID-19 pause, but it was also senior day. After the match, the senior class of Galarneau, Turzak, Babelis, Shick and Tristan Smith were honored on the court in front of family and friends.
“First and foremost, they’re just unbelievable people,” Spencer said. “They’re everything that you would want. They train together, they go to class together, they’re just really, really good people. In terms of tennis, they’ve really elevated the program… These guys have done everything we’ve asked of them. I couldn’t be more proud of the way they’re leaving the program.”
This year’s senior class will go down as one of the most accomplished in the history of the program. In the group’s first three years, the team rose in the rankings each year, finishing at No. 29 in 2018, No. 23 in 2019 and a program-best No. 6 in 2020.
The group reached the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2019, and in 2019 alone, the group also reached the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time in program history and the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
Not only has the senior class excelled on the tennis courts, but also in the classroom as it was a part of the 2018 team that won the Chancellor’s Cup, awarded to the NC State team with the highest team GPA.
“It’s meant a lot,” Galarneau said of his time at NC State. “I think it’s how I’ve matured over the years. It’s how they’ve shaped me into who I am now, and the coaches have done an unbelievable job on the court. These guys off the court, we’ve had so much fun. It’s so many good memories that I’ll keep forever.”
Next up, the Pack heads to Rome, Georgia for the ACC Championships April 21-25.
