North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Tennis to Take on Maryland in ACC Championship
4/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2004
Raleigh, N.C. - The NC State women's and men's tennis teams will take on Maryland at 3:00 pm at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C. for the start of the ACC Championships. The men are the No. 8 seed, and will face No. 9 Maryland, while on the women's side, NC State is No. 9 and will face the No. 8 Terrapins. The winner of the men's match will take on No. 1 seed North Carolina at 9:00 am on Friday, and the women will take on No. 1 seed Clemson.
MEN'S NOTES
Talented Newcomers & Experience The 2003-04 Wolfpack men's tennis team has used an influx of new players to increase its competiveness and it has helped head coach Jon Choboy's team take some impressive wins during the season. Mixing in returning players Jon Davis, Val Banada and Will Shaw, Choboy has blended the strengths of the newcomers with the experience offered from the returning trio. The team won five matches on the season while playing perhaps one of the toughest schedules in the country. Eleven of the Wolfpack's opponents, including at one time seven ACC teams, are ranked or were ranked when the Wolfpack faced those foes.
Taylor-Made His Mark Conor Taylor has won 20 matches on the season and is currently ranked in the top-75 in the country. His 5-3 mark in ACC play at No. 1 is tied for the second best mark in the ACC, and he defeated two of those players in head-to-head matchups during the season. Outside of the ACC, Taylor also defeated Izak van Der Merwe, the country's No. 13 ranked player at the time from Old Dominion. Taylor defeated Mat Cloer, the reigning ACC Player of the Year and a top-20 player nationally against Florida State, and Nicholas Monroe of North Carolina, the nations 32nd ranked singles player. Taylor's only ACC losses were to No. 5 Philip King of Duke, No. 21 Doug Stewart from Virginia, and No. 46 Scott Scnugg of Georgia Tech.
Banada, Davis and Shaw The three returning tennis players have done their part on the season, stabilizing the lineup at No. 2 (Banada), No. 3 (Shaw) and Davis (No. 5) for most of the dual season. The duo has combined for 31 of the teams wins in singles, and have provided a very young team a sense of upperclass leadership. Davis is the team leader, as the lone senior has developed a reputation for his work ethic and toughness on and off the court. Davis has won 19 total matches on the year, and 18 dual match wins in his career coming into this season.
Banada and Shaw are the only other players with division I experience on the team, and both are sophomores. In fact, Banada joined the team in January of 2003, so he only has roughly a year and a half of experience. He's made the most of his time in the red & white, going a perfect 7-0 at No. 3 singles in 2002-03. His 3-5 mark in the ACC is impressive, with a win at No. 3 and a 2-5 mark at No. 2 singles, including a win over one of the top freshman in the country, Todd Paul of Wake Forest.
Shaw is equally impressive, coming on strong of late with wins against Clemson and William & Mary, and he went three sets with David Lowenthal of No. 37 Wake Forest in his last match. He has won 12 singles matches on the year, with six coming in dual matches.
Newcomers Bloom Notable performances from the NC State freshmen:
* William Noblitt: Has positioned himself as a solid No. 6 singles player ... Posted a 6-8 dual match record in singles, including four wins at No. 6 singles ... Has two wins in the ACC, tied for third on the team ...
* Andre Iriarte: Got off to a hot start in his first semester with NC State after joining the team in January ... Won nine of his first 12 dual matches, with two four-match win streaks ...His nine dual match singles wins are second on the team behind Taylor ...
* Dennis Myers: Started the spring ranked No. 8 in the region as a doubles tandem with Conor Taylor after going 8-5 in the fall ... Battled injuries at the start of the dual match season, and has seen limited action since then ...
* Ryan Johnson: Went 11-12 in fall action in singles and doubles ... Won a match at No. 3 doubles in dual play with Taylor
* Tyghe Carstens: Record of 6-7 in singles and doubles in the fall.
WOMEN'S NOTES
Orlay Not Ordinary Sophomore star Barbara Orlay has been a consistent part of NC State winning seven matches and earning a ranking of No. 71 heading into the ACC Championship. Orlay is the nations No. 61 player overall and has won nine matches in dual match play, including seven wins at No. 1 singles.
One of the most impressive wins of the year came against Duke, one of the nation's premire teams. She defeated Amanda Johnson, a top-5 player for most of the last few seasons. Orlay and Johnson split the first two sets, with Orlay winning the opening set 6-3, and Johnson taking the second, 6-2. A third set tiebreak was used to complete the match, and Orlay took that for the win.
Chandrasekar Claims No. 3 Nandita Chandrasekar hails from Madras, India and has jumped into the NC State lineup after transferring with Orlay from Charleston Southern where she was an All Big South team selection. She stepped in to provide a punch in the middle of the lineup, going 10-3 on the year at No. 3 singles. In fact, she is the teams winningest singles player with 12 wins on the year. She also as a win at No. 1 and at No. 2 on the year. Chandrasekar teamed with Orlay for the first part of the season, going 5-3 before ACC play. She has seven dual doubles wins overall, second behind Orlay.
No. 9, No. 9, No. 9 Including Orlay, who has nine wins on the year, two other Wolfpack players have nine singles wins on the year. Agustina Arechavaleta, a freshman from Uruguay, and Jennifer Jassawalla, a senior co-captain from Houston, Texas, each have won nine singles matches in the dual spring season. Arechavaleta has won seven at No. 6 and two at No. 5. Jassawalla is 6-3 at No. 5 and has won three more match at No. 4 for her nine wins.
1-2-3 Punch During the dual season, NC State has won a majority of its matches in the top-3 singles slots, posting marks of 10-8 at No. 1, 8-10 at No. 2 and 12-6 at No. 3.The 30-24 overall mark of 19-36 posted in the top-3 spots a year ago.
...4-5-6 On the flip side, last year's team posted an 29-27 record in the bottom half of the lineup, while the 2004 Wolfpack is 23-31. The 53-55 overall mark on this years team surpasses the 48-63 record that the Wolfpack put up in 2003.
