NC State
Virginia Tech
No. 37 NC State Falls to No. 61 Virginia Tech
3/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 27, 2005
BLACKSBURG, Va. - No. 37 NC State fell in men's tennis on Sunday, Mar. 27 in Blacksburg, Va., as the Wolfpack (15-7, 2-5 ACC) was upset by the Hokies of No. 61 Virginia Tech, 6-1. Despite winning the doubles point and taking four of the six singles matches to three sets, NC State couldn't outlast the Hokies (13-4, 4-1 ACC) down the stretch in a key ACC matchup. Val Banada and Andre Iriarte won at No. 2 doubles to clinch the doubles point, with Mason Schermerhorn and William Noblitt winning at No. 3 as well. NC State couldn't push back Virginia Tech in singles, as the Hokies won its eighth consecutive match.
Banada and Iriarte won 8-5 over Diankov/Wilkins to set the stage for a dramatic ending to the doubles play, after Nick Cavaday and Will Shaw lost at No. 1 doubles. Schermerhorn and Noblitt held on for a 9-8 win at No. 3 and give NC State an early 1-0 lead.
Cavaday, Shaw, Banada and Noblitt each battled to intense three set show downs, but lost in those final sets 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 and 7-6, respectively.
Cavaday was playing at No. 1 singles and won the second set 7-5 after dropping the first 6-3 to Stepane Rod of Virginia Tech, the No. 78 player in the country.
Shaw faced No. 95 Arvid Puranen at No. 2 singles, and took the first set 7-6 before falling 2 and 1 in the final two frames.
Banada won his middle set and was in the match from the start at No. 3 singles, spliting his first two sets 4 and 4. The final set went to Albert Larregola, 6-2.
Noblitt fell at No. 5 singles to Alexey Sergeev, despite winning his first set 6-3. Sergeev won 6-0 in the second before the pair battled to a taut 7-6 decision in favor of the Hokies.
No. 61 Virginia Tech 6, No. 37 NC State 1 Singles 1. No. 78 Stephane Rod (VT) def. Cavaday, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 2. No. 95 Arvid Puranen (VT) def. Shaw, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 3. Albert Larregola (VT) def. Banada, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 4. Angel Diankov (VT) def. Iriarte, 6-4, 6-3 5. Alexey Sergeev (VT) def. Noblitt, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 6. Matthieu Leboucher (VT) def. Schermerhorn, 7-6, 6-3Doubles 1. Rod/Sergeev (VT) def. Cavaday/Shaw, 8-4 2. Banada/Iriarte def. Diankov/Wilkins (VT), 8-5 3. Schermerhorn/Noblitt def. Puranen/Larregola (VT), 9-8
