NC State
Virginia Tech
Wolfpack Edges Virginia Tech For First ACC Win Of Season
3/18/2018 6:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NC State is a perfect 6-0 in road matches this season
March 18, 2018
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The No. 16 NC State men's tennis team picked up its first conference win of the season Sunday afternoon, defeating Virginia Tech 4-3 on its home court at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
The victory pushes the Wolfpack to 11-3 (1-2 ACC), while the Hokies fall to 9-5 (0-4 ACC). NC State has yet to lose on the road through six away matches.
"That was another great team effort on the road with a 4-3 win for the guys," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "We had a great fight back by Tadas (Babelis) there, coming back from a break down in the third. It was a stellar job by Ivan (Saveljic) and Robert (Turzak) and a great job by Igor (Saveljic) coming through as the last match on. He stayed calm and executed the game plan. It was a great coaching job by Cris (James) helping him get through that match. It's pretty obvious that we're a tough team, and it's great to see that identity come through in these tough away matches."
For the second match in a row, the doubles point came down to a tiebreaker on court two. Tadas Babelis and Georgiy Malyshev made quick work of the Hokies duo of Jason Kros and Fred Mesmer, winning by a 6-3 score on court three.
Virginia Tech responded with a 6-3 doubles win of its own on court one, as Henrik Korsgaard and Alex Ribeiro defeated 38th-ranked Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden.
In a battle on court two, Carlo Donato and Mitch Harper edged Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic by a 7-3 score in a tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point.
As singles play got into swing, Robert Turzak quickly knotted the score at one apiece, taking care of Mesmer 6-3, 6-0.
Ivan gave the Wolfpack a lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Feliksas Sakalauskas on court five, but 45th-ranked Harper of Virginia Tech tied the match score again as he beat 22nd-ranked Galarneau 6-4, 6-4.
The remaining three courts went into third sets. Babelis put the Pack a match away from the clinch, besting Ribeiro on court three. After splitting sets with Ribeiro, Babelis came back from a break down to take the third set for the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Donato tallied a win for the Hokies on court four where he beat Malyshev 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-0 to push the decision to court two where Igor matched up against Kros.
Igor jumped out to a lead after the first set, which he won 7-3 in a tiebreaker, but Kros bounced back to win the second set 6-4. The Wolfpack senior was not phased, taking the third set 6-4 to earn the 50th singles victory of his NC State career and to hand the Wolfpack its win.
UP NEXT:
NC State continues its three-game road stint as it heads to the state of Florida to face No. 19 Florida State on Friday, March 23 and No. 50 Miami on Sunday, March 25.
RESULTS:
No. 16 NC State 4, Virginia Tech 3
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (3, 1, 2)
1. Henrik Korsgaard/Alex Ribeiro (VT) def. #38 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (NC State) 6-3
2. Carlo Donato/Mitch Harper (VT) def. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) 7-6 (3)
3. Tadas Babelis/Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) def. Jason Kros/Fred Mesmer (VT) 6-3
Singles Results
Order of finish: (6, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2)
1. #45 Mitch Harper (VT) def. #22 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 6-4, 6-4
2. Igor Saveljic (NC State) def. Jason Kros (VT) 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4
3. Tadas Babelis (NC State) def. Alex Ribeiro (VT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Carlo Donato (VT) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-0
5. Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. Feliksas Sakalauskas (VT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Robert Turzak (NC State) def. Fred Mesmer (VT) 6-3, 6-0
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Players Mentioned
