The No. 17 NC State men’s tennis team opened up conference play this weekend to some great results. The Wolfpack took down Louisville 4-0 Friday, Feb. 19 and Notre Dame 5-2 Sunday, Feb. 21. The Pack will look to continue trending in this direction after a disappointing nonconference schedule that saw the team go 0-3 against ranked opponents.
Doubles play against the Cardinals was a strong start to the weekend for the Wolfpack (4-3, 2-0 ACC) as it only needed two doubles matches to get the doubles point. Senior Tadas Babelis and sophomore Robin Catry were the first to finish when they took down their opponents 6-3. Junior Yannai Barkai and senior Collin Shick finished shortly after that by beating their opponents 6-3 as well. The pair of wins put NC State up 1-0 over Louisville and gave it the momentum heading into singles play.
Singles play saw some struggles for the Pack, but it got the job done in some tough matches. The Pack’s two ranked singles players were the first two players to finish their matches and they both did so in straight sets. No. 95 Babelis was the first to wrap up his match 7-5, 6-0. No. 7 fifth-year Alexis Galarneau got his win in similar style, winning a long first set in a tiebreaker before blowing his opponent out in the second set 7-6 (4), 6-2.
With the Wolfpack one match away from victory, Catry was able to clinch the win for the Pack 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. He not only sealed the match, but also the Pack’s first shutout victory of the season. Despite the big lead, the opportunity to seal the victory wasn’t lost on Catry.
“The guys in the stands were just awesome and gave me great energy,” Catry told NC State Athletics. “We battled all three sets, and it’s always a great feeling to clinch.”
Sunday’s match against Notre Dame didn’t go as smoothly for the Wolfpack. The Pack was able to snag the doubles point after being blown out in the first doubles match. After the 6-1 loss for Babelis and Catry, the No. 23 duo of Galarneau and senior Robert Turzak won 6-3 to tie the doubles score at 1-1. Barkai and Schick were the last to finish and they sealed the doubles point for the Pack with a 7-5 victory. Head coach Kyle Spencer later acknowledged the struggles NC State faced in winning the doubles point.
“I thought we escaped a little bit in the doubles,” Spencer told NC State Athletics. “Notre Dame played really well at No. 1 doubles, and then our guys at two and three doubles really came through which was awesome.”
In the first singles match to finish, No. 7 Galarneau dominated the No. 6 player in the nation 6-0, 6-1. This win was Galarneau’s highest-ranked win of the season. The Pack hit a rough patch after its early 2-0 lead and dropped two of the following three singles matches.
Despite the struggles, the Pack was one win away from clinching the victory over Notre Dame. Catry was once again the man for the job. He clinched the match for the Pack with his 6-3, 7-5 victory. When all was said and done, the Pack came away up 5-2.
Next up for the Wolfpack is another pair of home ACC matches. The Pack will take on No. 4 Virginia and Virginia Tech on Friday, Feb. 26 and Sunday, Feb. 28, respectively. NC State will look to pick up its first ranked victory of the season in addition to continuing its undefeated start to conference play.
