No. 40 Wolfpack Defeats No. 35 Drake, 4-2

Saturday, January 23

Chapel Hill, N.C.

9:30 am

NC State

No. 35 Drake

1/23/2016 1:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 40^th-ranked NC State men's tennis team defeated No. 35 Drake in its opening match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, 4-2. Simon Norenius clinched the match after winning in a third-set tiebreaker.

Notables:
After being upset by Drake in a neutral-site match last year, the Pack returned the favor, winning the rematch to even the overall series at 1-1.

Thomas Weigel maintains a perfect start to the season in doubles (4-0) and singles (4-0) matches.

Match Recap:
For the first time this season, NC State dropped the doubles point. Michael Ogden and Thomas Weigel won their match at No. 3 doubles. However, Drake responded well, winning the doubles point on courts one and three. The Pack had a chance to win the point, but Simon Norenius and Nick Horton were narrowly defeated in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5) on court two.

NC State answered back in singles play, as Weigel picked up a straight-set win over Drake's Calum MacGeoch, 6-4, 6-3. Weigel has been the Pack's first singles match winner for the second time in as many matches.

Drake took a 2-1 advantage after a win on court three, as Ivan was dealt his first loss of the season.

The Pack answered back with three-straight singles wins with victories on courts six, five and one.

Igor tied the match with a three-set win over Ben Clark at No. 6 singles, Shoti Meparidze extended the Pack's advantage to 3-2 with a win at No. 5 singles and Norenius clinched the win in a tiebreaker on court one.

Up Next:
NC State (4-0) will face the winner of North Carolina and Indiana in the regional final Sunday at 1 p.m.