Pack Bounces Back to Defeat Minnesota

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's tennis team took down Minnesota 5-2 Saturday afternoon at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. With the win, NC State improves to 6-3 on the season.

Minnesota entered the match having lost only four matches between 1-5 singles all season, but the Pack took down the Golden Gophers on all five singles courts, while handing the visitors their first team loss of the year.

"The competitiveness, particularly in singles, was very high," said head coach Jon Choboy. "Igor was challenged from a tough competitor and he did a great job, as he has done all year. Alexis did a great job finishing off his match quick when we were down 1-0."

"We didn't put up enough resistance in doubles and we knew we had to come back out strong in singles. The guys did a great job with that. We lost a few first sets, so that shows a lot about the team's toughness and competitiveness to come back from that. We just need to get back to work and get ready to go play South Carolina.

Match Recap:
Minnesota grabbed an early lead, winning doubles matches on courts one and three. Alexis Galarneau and Nick Horton improved to 6-0 with their 6-2 victory over Minnestoa's duo of Marino Alpeza and Justyn Levin.

In singles play, No. 67 Galarneau moved up to the top singles spot and defeated No. 51 Matic Spec 6-2, 6-2 for his sixth-consecutive win. The victory marked the sixth time this season Galarneau has won the first singles match for the Pack and his second win over a nationally ranked opponent.

The Wolfpack increased its lead with to 2-1 after Michael Ogden downed Alpeza on court four, earning a 7-6(9-7), 6-4 win at No. 4 singles. The win is Ogden's 10^th of the year and fifth of the dual season.

Nick Horton added a victory on court two, defeating Felix Corwin 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 for his 74^th career victory. The win moves him to 10^th in program history for all-time singles victories.

Igor Saveljic fought off match point in the third set to earn a come-from-behind 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over No. 113 Stefan Milicevic. The win brings Saveljic to a team-high eight victories this dual season. He's now 7-3 in his last 10 matches.

Georgiy Malyshev added the Pack's fifth point with a three-set win over Josip Krstanovic from the No. 5 singles spot. Malyshev is 7-1 in his last eight and has won 13 overall matches this season.

Minnesota picked up a late win at No. 6 singles to earn their second match point.

Up Next:
NC State is set for its first road match of the season when it travels to Columbia, S.C., Friday to face South Carolina.

Tennis Match Results Minnesota vs NC State
Feb 11, 2017 at Raleigh, N.C. (JW Isenhour Tennis Center)

NC State 5, Minnesota 2

1. #67 Alexis Galarneau (ST) def. #51 Matic Spec (MINN) 6-2, 6-2
2. #68 Nick Horton (ST) def. Felix Corwin (MINN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. Igor Saveljic (ST) def. #113 Stefan Milicevic (MINN) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. Michael Ogden (ST) def. Marino Alpeza (MINN) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
5. Georgiy Malyshev (ST) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
6. George Lovitt (MINN) def. Sean Burnette (ST) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3

1. #22 Matic Spec/Felix Corwin (MINN) def. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) 6-4
2. Nick Horton/Alexis Galarneau (ST) def. Marino Alpeza/Justyn Levin (MINN) 6-2
3. Stefan Milicevic/Eli Ogilvy (MINN) def. Georgiy Malyshev/Michael Ogden (ST) 6-4

Match Notes:
Minnesota 7-1
NC State 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,2,3,5)
T-3:52 A-61

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Players Mentioned

Sean Burnette

Alexis Galarneau

Nick Horton

Georgiy Malyshev

Michael Ogden

Igor Saveljic

Ivan Saveljic