No. 33 NC State To Face No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 UNC

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 33^rd-ranked NC State men's tennis team will face its toughest stretch of the season over the weekend, as it travels to top-ranked Virginia on Friday and hosts No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday.

The Pack has already played one of the nation's toughest schedules this year, facing off against four teams currently in the top-10 on the ITA Poll. NC State defeated No. 7 Wake Forest, 4-3 in its last meeting with a top-10 team.

Promos:

NC State faces No. 1 UNC on Sunday at 1 p.m. at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. Come to the match to cheer on the Wolfpack and enter for a chance to win a private stadium tour of Carter-Finley!
Posted by NC State Men's Tennis on Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Captains Leading the Pack:
NC State has relied on its upperclassmen to carry most of the load this season. The trio of Nick Horton, Simon Norenius and Thomas Weigel account for 41 of the team's 62 spring-season singles wins. Weigel leads the group with 16 singles wins Norenius has 14 and Horton has 11. The three have played at the top of the lineup. Horton leads the group with a No. 58 singles ranking and Norenius is ranked No. 73.

Dynamic Doubles:
Michael Ogden and Weigel have been the most consistent doubles players for the Pack this season. Weigel has moved into the top-10 in school history in doubles wins and continues to climb the standings with 11 wins this season. Ogden, who is playing in his first season with the Pack, has earned nine doubles wins. Ogden began the year at the bottom of the doubles lineup, but has recently moved into the top spot partnering with Ivan Saveljic.

Scouting Report:
This weekend will be the first time in school history the Pack has ever faced the top-two teams in back-to-back games, marking it the toughest two-game stretch in school history.

The weekend will be another great opportunity for the Pack's individuals to pick up wins over ranked opponents, as NC State is slated to face 11 ranked singles players and five ranked doubles duos.

Last week, UNC was ranked No. 1 and Virginia No. 2, but the teams switched places in the rankings after the Tar Heels dropped a 4-3 decision at Florida State.

The Cavaliers have six singles players and three doubles teams ranked in ITA polls, which means Virginia's entire lineup could feature a ranked singles player and a ranked doubles team.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski leads the group with the nation's No. 3 singles ranking. Ryan Shane is 13^th, Collin Altamirano is 47^th, Alexander Ritschard is 80^th, and JC Aragone and Luca Corinteli round out the rankings at No 116 and 117, respectively.

In doubles, Corinteli and Shane are No. 6, Mac Styslinger and Kwiatkowski are No. 7 and Henrik Wiersholm and Aragone are the No. 38 doubles team in the country.

UNC has five players that hold singles rankings. No. 12 Ronnie Schneider leads the way. Brett Clark is ranked 29^th, Brayden Schnur is 38^th, Jack Murray is 74^th and Robert Kelly closes out the group at No. 89.

North Carolina also has two doubles teams in the rankings. Clark and Kelly are the No. 3 squad in the country, while Schnur and Murray are ranked 30^th.

NC State and UNC have already faced off once this season. The Pack fell 4-2 at the final match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Pack earned big wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but The Tar Heels were able to get by with wins at the bottom of the lineup.

Last Time Out:
NC State dropped a 5-2 result to Georgia Tech last weekend. Despite the loss, Weigel earned his seventh-straight singles win and 16^th of the year.

No. 33 NC State To Face No. 1 Virginia, No. 2 UNC

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Players Mentioned

Nick Horton

Simon Norenius

Michael Ogden

Ivan Saveljic

Thomas Weigel