After starting the season with three consecutive victories last weekend, N.C. State continued to roll Saturday as it defeated American University and UNC-Greensboro 7-0 at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
The only loss the Wolfpack suffered all weekend came in the form of a doubles match, pitting the Pack’s Val Banada and Will Shaw against American’s Nicolas Frayssinoux and Juancarlo Vazquez. After taking an early lead, Banada and Shaw would eventually go on to lose 8-6.
“We just got a little tentative,” Coach Jon Choboy said. “We’ve got to close that out because we’re going to be in those kinds of matches every single match.”
Following the early letdown, State bounced back in convincing fashion as it won all six singles matches en route to defeating the Eagles 7-0. This marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Pack, as well as State’s fourth shutout on the year.
The latter match put the Pack against the Spartans, a team that Choboy said was comparable to the others teams his squad has faced.
“They would be right on par with the other teams I’d say,” Choboy said.
The Pack jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage after collecting victories in all three doubles matches. Sophomore David Rozek and freshman Jay Weinacker defeated Ian Conchar and Jason Steinhorn 8-1 in the No. 2 spot, while Andre Iriarte and Mason Schermerhorn won 8-1 in the No. 3.
The No. 1 match pitted Nick Cavaday and Chris Welte against the Spartan’s Marc Ladoucer and Martin Redelinghuys with the Pack duo eventually winning 8-4.
In singles competition, the No. 1 spot went to William Noblitt, who was named last week’s ACC Co-Player of the Week. Despite garnering the coveted No. 1 for the first time this season, Noblitt remained poised winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
“I just tried to come out and play the same game that I’ve been playing and try not to let the pressure get to me,” Noblitt said.
The No. 2 and 3 matches saw two more State victories as Weinacker won, 6-1, 6-4, and Iriarte defeated off his opponent, 6-2, 6-1.
With the victory having already been secured for the Pack, Shaw took the court at the No. 4 spot and defeated Austin Wilty, 6-2, 6-0, in dominating fashion.
“If you go into a match and take someone lightly, you’re just going to make it tough on yourself,” Shaw said. “The more intensity you play with, the better you’ll play.”
One late scare came in the No. 5 match when, in the second set, Schermerhorn trailed 4-5, before eventually winning three straight games to earn the victory 7-5.
“At that point, I was just trying to be consistent and let him make the mistakes,” Schermerhorn said. “I tried to keep myself in the points and wait for my right opportunities and I got them and I took advantage of them.”
The final victory of the day went to State sophomore Ben Zink as he defeated Ryan Lewis in consecutive sets, 6-1, 6-1.
The Pack’s next competition will come in the shape of Yale next weekend. Choboy said it’s hard to tell what stage his team is at this early in the season.
“It’s hard to kind of gauge where you’re at,” Choboy said. “You’re looking at your own statistics and making sure that you’re doing as well as you can on your side of the net so I was pretty pleased with that.”
