North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
No. 19 UNC-Chapel Hill
No. 31 Pack edged by Heels, 4-3
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- The No. 31 N.C. State men's tennis team was edged by No. 19 UNC, 4-3 on Friday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. In the loss, the Pack won three points in straight sets and picked up two wins over ranked opponents, but eventually fell to the in-state rival.
The Wolfpack showed big improvements in the middle of the lineup. State entered the match with the lowest number of wins coming from the third and fourth spots. However, Simon Norenius and Beck Bond would power NC State to two victories against ranked opponents from the third and fourth spots, respectively.
Match Recap:
The Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead on every doubles court before No. 12 Robbie Mudge and Ian Dempster came back to erase the deficit. State's duo held the lead before a late rally from the UNC's No. 34 Oyestin Steiro and Esben Hess Olesen clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 victory.
NC State fell behind early but staged a comeback to tie or lead on four of the six courts. Norenius, Bond and Horton each won their first sets.
Norenius rallied from 0-2 to win, 6-4, while Bond and Horton each won tiebreakers en route to a pair of 7-6 first-set victories.
Despite the rally, UNC would pick up wins on courts one, two and five in the lineup to clinch the match. However, State continued to fight, and won matches at the third, fourth and sixth spots in the lineup.
In Bond's second set, his opponent would retire with the set tied at 4-4 to give the Pack its first point of the day.
Horton would follow up his first-set victory with a dominating second set. He won three straight points to start the set and finished off his opponent to win 7-6, 6-1.Horton has won four straight matches and is undefeated at the No. 6 spot in the lineup
Norenius provided the third point for the Pack. In his first match against a ranked opponent this season, Norenius defeated UNC's No. 81 Jack Murray. After winning the first set, 6-4, he would win the tiebreaker in the second set, 7-3. Norenius has won 10 straight matches and leads the team with 12 wins.
Up Next:
State will be back in actionSaturday at 3 p.m.for its ACC home opener against No. 12 Virginia.
Tennis Match Results
NC State vs North Carolina
Mar 06, 2015 at Chapel Hill, N.C.
(Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
#19 North Carolina 4, #31 NC State 3
Singles competition
1. #27 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Robbie Mudge (ST) 6-3, 6-1
2. #81 Brett Clark (UNC) def. #62 Austin Powell (ST) 6-3, 6-2
3. Simon Norenius (ST) def. #81 Jack Murray (UNC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Beck Bond (ST) def. #89 Oystein Steiro (UNC) 7-6 (7-5), 4-4, retired
5. #86 Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Thomas Weigel (ST) 6-4, 6-4
6. Nick Horton (ST) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #34 Esben Hess-Olesen/Oystein Steiro (UNC) def. #12 Robbie Mudge/Ian Dempster (ST) 8-5
2. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Austin Powell/Simon Norenius (ST) 8-4
3. Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. Thomas Weigel/Nick Horton (ST) 8-6
Match Notes:
NC State 10-4; National ranking #31
North Carolina 12-5; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,5,1,4,6,3)
Players Mentioned
