No. 16 NC State Hosts No. 20 Texas Friday

March 1, 2018

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RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 16 NC State men's tennis team will match up against its first ranked opponent of the season, taking on No. 20 Texas Friday at 4 p.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. The Wolfpack enters the match with a perfect record through the first nine matches of the 2018 season.

"We are very excited to welcome an excellent Texas team to NC State on Friday," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "It will be great to have our fans and the tennis community of Raleigh have the chance to see high-level college tennis in our stadium."

LAST TIME OUT:
The Wolfpack earned its third sweep of the season Sunday, defeating Furman by a 7-0 score. The Pack won the doubles point and did not look back on its way to picking up three singles victories in straight sets to clinch the match.

With the win, NC State established its first 9-0 record since the 2006 season when it won 10 matches before losing.

WOLFPACK IN THE RANKINGS:
NC State remained ranked in the top 25 of the ITA/Oracle Men's National Team Rankings and moved up three positions to No. 16. The Wolfpack is one of six ACC programs that finds itself in the top 25, joining No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 6 UNC-Chapel Hill, No. 10 Duke, No. 12 Florida State, and No. 21 Notre Dame.

PACK TRACKS:
Georgiy Malyshev and Tadas Babelis bring matching 8-1 singles records into Friday's match. Babelis is 6-0 when playing on court two, and he has won five consecutive matches. Sixteenth-ranked Alexis Galarneau also carries a winning streak into the match, having won his last six matches on the way to building up a 6-1 singles mark to start the season. Full season statistics can be found here.

NC State's next four matches pit the Wolfpack against opponents currently ranked in the top 25, as the team takes on No. 20 Texas, No. 25 Tennessee, No. 6 UNC-Chapel Hill, and No. 10 Duke all in a two-week span.

SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS:
Texas is 7-2 on the season, with its two losses coming at the hands of Notre Dame during ITA Kickoff Weekend and Ohio State. The Longhorns have played five of their last six matches against Power Five opponents, most recently defeating Georgia Tech by a 5-2 score.

In addition to being ranked as a team, five Longhorns - Leonardo Telles (No. 43), Harrison Scott (No. 62), John Lee (No. 82), Rodrigo Banzer (No. 111), and Yuya Ito (No. 118) - find themselves ranked in singles.

Banzer and Telles, who reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships in the fall, pair up as the nation's third-ranked duo. Ito and Scott are also ranked, coming in at No. 53.

Having only met twice, the Wolfpack and the Longhorns are tied at one in the all-time series. The squads last met in the Round of 16 of the 2007 NCAA Championships, a match that NC State won by a 4-3 score to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS:

Free Bojangles' Cajun Filet Biscuits (while supplies last)
Tennis ball drawstring bag giveaway
Enter to win tickets to the men's basketball game vs. Louisville (March 3)

#GoPack | @PackMensTennis

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Players Mentioned

Tadas Babelis

Alexis Galarneau

Georgiy Malyshev