North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 52 Men's Tennis On First Road Trip
3/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 52 NC State men's tennis team will head to Fresno, Calif. for its first two road matches this season. The Wolfpack will take on No. 64 Fresno State on Friday, March 9, and No. 42 Oklahoma on Saturday, March 10, with the first competition taking place at 5 p.m. and the second one at 1 p.m. Pack enters the weekend at 11-1 after defeating both Navy and Charlotte in a doubleheader last Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. Juniors Nick Cavaday and Ben Zink are ranked No. 46 in doubles, and Cavaday is also ranked No. 35 in singles.
The Bulldogs, out of the Western Athletic Conference, are 4-3 on the season, and recently participated in the Pacific Coast Doubles. Fresno State boasts one ranked player, No. 59 Jakub Cech. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 2-0.
The Sooners, from the Big 12, are 7-0 after shutting out Oral Roberts. Oklahoma boasts one ranked doubles pair, No. 42 Federico Chavarria and Rob McKenzie, as well as two ranked singles players, No. 60 Andrei Daescu and No. 111 Vaclav Kucera. The Sooners lead the all-time series 1-0.
NO. 52 RANKING IN FILA/ITA POLL: NC State stands as the No. 52 team in the land according to the Fila / ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings released on Tuesday, March 6.
CAVADAY STRONG AT NO. 1: NC State is currently 11-1 at No. 1 singles with Nick Cavaday netting seven of those wins. Six of his seven victories were made in straight sets. Cavaday took down his second ranked opponent of the season, No. 8 Harel Srugo of No. 55 Old Dominion, after battling over two hours and emerging victorious in the third set tiebreak. Days later her downed No. 40 Slavko Radman of Louisville, 6-3, 6-2. The two triumphs led to Fila/ITA Collegiate Tennis placing Cavaday at No. 35 in the nation for singles play.
DOUBLES POINT IS THE KEY: Although the Pack has only surrendered points in seven of its 12 matches, the doubles point has been a critical part of the team’s success. NC State has won doubles all 12 times so far this season. Nick Cavaday and Ben Zink lead all Pack combos with a 6-1 record at No. 1. The ITA players rankings released on March 6 put Cavaday and Zink as the No. 46 doubles team in the nation.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: NC State is 2-1 against ranked teams so far this season after shutting out No. 64 Penn and No. 52 Louisville. The Pack fell to No. 55 Old Dominion, 4-3. Last season the team went 6-17 against ranked competition.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Content with “Protecting the House,” NC State will host 18 opponents at home this season, including six conference foes. So far, the Pack is 11-1 at home this season, with all but two of the wins coming indoors. Last year the red and white posted a stellar 15-2 record at home, going 11-0 inside the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Complex, 4-2 outside at the Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium and defeating three of five ranked teams.
SOLID AT THE BOTTOM: NC State is cruising through play at the bottom-half of its lineup. Ten contests into the season, the Pack has dropped matches just nine times in the bottom three spots of the order. Christian Welte has won seven matches in the bottom three slots this season.
OUT OF CONFERENCE: NC State is currently 11-1 against out of conference opponents this season. In all, the Pack will battle 14 teams outside of conference in 2007. The red and white went 17-2 against non-ACC foes last spring, downing four ranked opponents.
NOTHIN’S STOPPING NOBERS: With a 20-7 record last season, William Noblitt was named first-team All-ACC for Flight 3 singles. In his final campaign as a senior, Noblitt figures to stand as on of the toughest competitors in the ACC this year. So far, Noblitt is 5-2 in singles play.
WATCH OUT FOR WEINACKER: A season ago, Jay Weinacker set a new school record for singles wins in a season with 23 as a freshmen. This year, Weinacker will look to continue his success as a sophomore, moving up the lineup and playing even tougher competition. He stands at 6-1 in singles play thus far.
THE ACC IS NO. 1: In the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings revealed by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on March 6, all but one of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference teams were ranked, with five landing in the top-25. Here’s a breakdown of where the conference schools place.
Virginia No. 3
North Carolina No. 11
Wake Forest No. 12
Duke No. 16
Clemson No. 20
Florida State No. 31
Virginia Tech No. 33
Georgia Tech No. 44
NC State No. 52
Maryland No. 56
Miami No. 67
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: Of the Pack’s 58 singles wins this season, 46 (79.3%) have come in straight sets. Andre Iriarte currently leads the team with eight.
PACK HOLDS OFF MIDSHIPMEN, 49ERS: In the Pack's last doubleheader of the season, both matches finished with a 4-3 score. The Wolfpack grabbed the doubles point and three singles wins in both competitions. Charlotte gave NC State a scare, sending four of the singles matches into three sets. After three of the bouts tied the score 3-3, James McGee grabbed the win for the Pack at the No. 1 slot.
