The men’s tennis team started the season hot, winning three out of its first four ACC matches. However, last weekend the Pack dropped two matches in a row to Clemson and Georgia Tech, respectively. No. 38 NC State will look to get back on the winning track against No. 25 Wake Forest today in Raleigh.
‘It’s really important we get a win here,” senior Jay Weinacker said. “In the last two matches we were expecting to at least win one of them, if not both, because both of those teams were ranked behind us. We are going to drop a little bit in the rankings and Wake is ranked No. 25, so it’s going to be very important to beat them and get off this losing streak.”
Head coach Jon Choboy was not pleased with the team’s performance as of late and expects his team to respond to adversity positively.
“We’re going to have to see how we respond because we didn’t really play that well these last two matches, particularly against Georgia Tech,” Choboy said. “We’ll see if coming back home and playing at home will make any difference. Hopefully everybody’s looked at himself in the mirror and we’ll come out and do a better job.”
Despite the team’s two losses this weekend, senior Jay Weinacker picked up two more singles wins, improving his ACC record to 6-0 this season. Weinacker, currently ranked No. 65, nationally notched a straight set victory over No. 12 Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech. Weinacker hopes to qualify for the NCAA tournament and win out in his five remaining ACC matches of his career, all while helping his team succeed.
“It’s important, every time I can go out and get a win it’s going to help the team. I have some individual goals as well,” Weinacker said. ‘So each match I win is helping me get closer to accomplishing those and helping the team. I am trying to go out on a good note.”
Choboy hopes Weinacker’s success will rub off on the rest of the team and the other players will follow the example of the senior leader.
“A bad apple can ruin a group and hopefully a good apple can help a group. And he’s a good one,” Choboy said. “He’s a good example for everyone to know what they have to do. If I was on his team, I’ll tell you this — I wouldn’t want to let him down.”
Weinacker hopes the team will take the losses against Clemson and Georgia Tech as a challenge and respond accordingly.
“Obviously we had a tough weekend last weekend so everybody was a little down but it seems like everybody kind of bounced back and looks like we are a little refocused,” Weinacker said. “Hopefully, we’ll come out hungry because usually we do after a couple of tough losses.”
