After going two weeks without competition, the No. 9 NC State men’s tennis team was back in action Sunday, pulling off an upset over No. 4 Texas and sweeping North Carolina A&T at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, NC.
The Wolfpack (10-3) last played two weeks ago in the ITA National Men’s Indoor Championship in Madison, Wisconsin, losing three matches to No. 8 Stanford, No. 11 TCU, and No. 16 UCLA. After losing three straight matches, two of which were 4-0 sweeps, the team had plenty of time to prepare for the Longhorns (10-3), who came into the match ranked No. 4 nationally and had won their last four matches. The Longhorns had also won the last two times they went up against the Wolfpack, including victories in each of the previous two seasons.
NC State got the first point of the match against Texas as sophomore Rafa Izquierdo Luque and junior Collin Shick won their doubles match 6-4 and freshman Robin Catry and senior Alexis Galarneau similarly won their match 6-4 to secure the doubles point. Junior Tadas Babelis and sophomore Yannai Barkai, the 17th-ranked doubles duo in the nation, were tied 5-5 in their match when play was stopped.
The Longhorns responded by picking up the first two singles points of the match. Babelis, ranked 96th in the country in singles, was defeated soundly 6-1, 6-2 by Christian Sigsgaard of Texas, ranked sixth nationally. Luque was then defeated 6-4, 6-0 as Texas took the lead 2-1 in team score.
After losing his first set 6-2, freshman Martin Rocens won his next two sets 6-2, 6-3 to win his match and tie the team score at 2-2. Texas took the next point as Barkai lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a hard fought match against Siem Woldeab, ranked 46th nationally. Up 3-2, the Longhorns were in command and one point away from winning the match. The Wolfpack, however, was not ready to concede.
Catry picked up the next point, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to even the score 3-3. The attention then turned to the deciding match on court 1, where 37th-ranked Galarneau was battling Yuya Ito, ranked No. 2 nationally. The first two sets of the match were settled in tiebreaker fashion, with Ito winning the first set 7-6 (4) and Galarneau winning the second set 7-6 (5). Galarneau crushed Ito in the last set, winning 6-1 to seal a huge 4-3 upset victory for the Wolfpack, the team’s first win against a top-10 opponent since 2016. Teammates ran out onto the court and celebrated with Galarneau immediately following his win.
After the emotional victory over Texas, NC State had to turn around and take on the Aggies (1-6).
Rocens and redshirt sophomore Joseph Schrader easily won their match 6-0, while Galarneau and Catry likewise won 6-0 to quickly secure the doubles point. Shick and Babelis were up 4-0 when play was stopped.
The Wolfpack dominated singles as well. Rocens finished first, winning 6-0, 6-1 for his second singles victory of the day. Schrader then won 6-1, 6-0 to put the Pack up 3-0. After winning his first set 7-6 (6) in tiebreaker fashion, Babelis won his second set 6-1 to win the match 4-0 for the Pack. When play was stopped, Barkai had split his first two sets 4-6, 6-4, Catry won his first set 6-2 and was losing his second set 5-3 and Schick won his first set 6-1, lost his second set 6-4 and was winning his third set 3-0.
It was a big day for the NC State men’s tennis team, perhaps one of the biggest days it has had in several years. With a monumental victory over No. 4 Texas and a sweep of NC A&T, the Wolfpack will look to ride its momentum into conference play.
The next match for the Pack will be on Wednesday, March 4 against the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that has beaten NC State the last nine times the two teams have met. The match begins at 5 p.m. and will be played at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh.
Junior Tadas Babelis returns the ball against Texas on Sunday, March 1 at Cary Tennis Park. Babelis' doubles match with sophomore Yannai Barkai went unfinished and Babelis lost his singles match 6-1, 6-2, but the Wolfpack ended up with a 4-3 team win.
