North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 21 Men's Tennis Hosts Final Twinbill
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 9, 2012
Match notes (3/10/2012) 
| Season stats |Live results
No. 21 NC State (12-1) vs. Binghamton (5-7)
Time: Noon
Series Record: First meeting
No. 21 NC State vs. Campbell, 5 p.m.
Time: 5 p.m.
Series Record: NC State leads, 6-2
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State's No. 21 men's tennis team will put its 11-match home winning streak on the line twice on Saturday when it hosts Binghamton at noon and Campbell at 5 p.m. at the Isenhour Tennis Center in its final home doubleheader of the season.
This will be the fifth doubleheader hosted by State so far this season. The Pack is 8-0 so far in twinbills.
It could also be the men's first match on its new outdoor home, the Curtis and Jacqueline Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium, which was completed in the fall as the new home for the NC State men's and women's varsity teams. The $3 million facility has six lighted courts, chairback seating for up to 1,000 fans and a new electronic scoreboard. Both matches will be played on the new courts, weather permitting. Otherwise, one or both of the matches will be played on the adjacent Andy Andrews Indoor Courts, site of all the Pack's other home meets so far this year.
The Pack has won 10 in a row at home this season, plus its final match last season, when all home outdoor matches were played at Pullen Park.
It will be the first meeting ever between the Wolfpack (12-2) and Binghamton's Bearcats (5-7), who have won four consecutive America East titles and qualified for seven of the last nine NCAA Championships.
The Pack owns a 6-2 advantage against Campbell's Camels (4-5), which ended a four-match losing streak with a 6-1 victory at Jacksonville on Saturday.
Saturday's matches will be the final non-conference contests of the season for the Pack, which will complete the regular season with 11 consecutive ACC matches.
On the horizon
Saturday's doubleheader is part of a three-match homestand for the Wolfpack. Up next for head coach Jon Choboy's squad its ACC opener against No. 5 Duke. The Wolfpack will host the Blue Devils next Friday at 4 p.m.
The match has been designated Greek Night for men's tennis and the NC State sorority with the largest attendance will receive $500. It will also be a Student Wolfpack Club minutes event, with free pizza available prior to the match.
The match against the Blue Devils will be followed by five consecutive road contests, starting next Sunday at North Carolina.
Pack Suffers Second Loss of Season
On the same day the Pack moved up to No. 21 in the Campbell's ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the Wolfpack fell at No. 43 UNC Wilmington, by a narrow 4-3 margin. It's the second loss this season to a ranked team. State's only other loss was to No. 7 Kentucky in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in January.
The Seahawks ended the Wolfpack's ACC-best eight-match winning streak by taking the doubles point and coming back in two of its three singles' victories.
Half of the Wolfpack's first 14 matches have been against ranked opponents. State is 5-2 in those contests.
Wolfpack Moves Up In Campbell's ITA Rankings
The latest Campbell's ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings were released prior to NC State's 4-3 loss against No. 43 UNC Wilmington, with the Pack moving from No. 34 to No. 21. That jump followed a move the week before from No. 48 to No. 34.
Senior lefthander Jaime Pulgar, who is 11-1 on the season, moved into the ITA singles ranking in the Feb. 16 poll of top 125 players at No. 110 and is now up to No. 86 overall.
