NC State
#5 University of North Carolina
No. 16 NC State Falls To No. 5 UNC-Chapel Hill
3/14/2018 7:09:00 PM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 16 NC State men's tennis team suffered its second loss of the season in a 5-0 decision to UNC-Chapel Hill at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center Wednesday afternoon. With the loss, NC State falls to 10-2 (0-1 ACC), and the Tar Heels improve to 12-3 (3-0 ACC).
"I thought it was a good tennis match," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "I thought North Carolina played extremely well, and our guys were in there and showing a lot of grit and patience in a lot of the second sets, getting back into those matches. It didn't go our way today, but (I'm) happy with the progress so far and excited for Friday."
UNC took an advantage in the match after earning doubles wins on courts one and two. Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger beat Tadas Babelis and Alexis Galarneau 6-1, and sixth-ranked William Blumberg and Robert Kelly defeated 45th-ranked Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic 6-2.
Georgiy Malyshev and Michael Ogden were in a tight matchup with UNC's Blaine Boyden and Josh Peck on court three, but play was halted at 4-4.
Blumberg and Galarneau, who last faced each other in the quarterfinal round of the ITA All-American Championship, faced off on court one. Blumberg, who is ranked first in the nation in singles, took the match by a 6-1, 6-4 score over No. 22 Galarneau.
On court four, Boyden put the Tar Heels a match away from the clinch, defeating Malyshev 6-2, 6-4.
No. 120 Robert Kelly secured UNC's fourth point and victory in a 6-4, 7-5 win over Igor Saveljic on court three.
Play continued on court two, where Babelis, who won the first set 6-2, and Soendergaard, who took the second set 6-3, found themselves in a third set. It extended into a tiebreaker, which Soendergaard won by an 11-9 count to put the final score at 5-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.
UP NEXT:
NC State returns to action Friday afternoon as it hosts the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
RESULTS:
No. 5 UNC 5, No. 16 NC State 0
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (2, 1)
1. #6 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (UNC) def. #45 Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) 6-2
2. Simon Soendergaard/Mac Kiger (UNC) def. Tadas Babelis/Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 6-1
3. Georgiy Malyshev/Michael Ogden (NC State) vs. Blaine Boyden/Josh Peck (NC State) 4-4, unfinished
Singles Results
Order of finish: (1, 4, 3, 2)
1. #1 William Blumberg (UNC) def. #22 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 6-1, 6-4
2. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) def. Tadas Babelis (NC State) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9)
3. #120 Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Igor Saveljic (NC State) 6-4, 7-5
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) 6-2, 6-4
5. Ivan Saveljic (NC State) vs. Josh Peck (UNC) unfinished
6. Robert Turzak (NC State) vs. Mac Kiger (UNC) unfinished
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Players Mentioned
