NC State
#20 University of Texas
No. 16 Wolfpack Falls In Battle With No. 20 Texas
3/2/2018 7:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis
March 2, 2018
RALEIGH - The No. 16 NC State men's tennis team lost its first match of the season Friday evening, falling 4-1 to No. 20 Texas at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. With the loss, the Wolfpack falls to 9-1 on the season, while the Longhorns improve to 8-2.
"I think it was a great college tennis match," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "I love that we got a big crowd. There were obviously opportunities in the match, but Texas did a good job of staying around. At one singles, it was just a great tennis match. I'm super proud of Alexis (Galarneau), the way he played and fought and battled. We'll learn from today, but I thought the level was right. I can't wait for us to get back on the practice court and continue to keep improving."
The Wolfpack opened with a statement in doubles play. All three courts remained in tight contention through the first few games, with the pairs holding strong on their service games.
On court one, Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic were the first to tally a doubles victory for the Wolfpack. Playing against Texas's Rodrigo Banzer and Leonardo Telles, who are ranked third in the nation in doubles, the Saveljic brothers earned a timely break to take a 5-3 lead in the match. Banzer and Telles broke back, but Igor and Ivan remained confident with yet another break to win their match by a 6-4 score.
Ivan and @SaveljicIgor made a #STATEment on court one, taking down the third-ranked doubles tandem of Telles/Banzer. pic.twitter.com/oyhcQCF7OC
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) March 2, 2018
Seconds later, Georgiy Malyshev and Michael Ogden defeated Colin Markes and Yuya Ito by the same score on court three. Ogden and Malyshev did not drop a service game during the entirety of their match. A break to go up 5-4 and a hold by Ogden led them to the win.
And @mikeogden07 and Georgiy Malyshev follow suit with a 6-4 win over Markes/Ito on court three. pic.twitter.com/7GrcVZ78wK
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) March 2, 2018
Play was halted on court two, where Alexis Galarneau and Tadas Babelis were tied at 5-5 with Adrian Ortiz and Christian Sigsgaard.
"That was a really good (Texas) team at number one doubles," said Spencer. "Credit to the guys (Igor and Ivan) for sticking in there after getting broken (while) serving for the match. Our three doubles team (Malyshev and Ogden) just continues to get better and better, and they showed that today. (I'm) super proud of them for closing out their match the way they did."
Singles proved to be a fight, with three of the first four matches on extending into third sets.
Babelis forced a third set after dropping his opening set, but Texas's Sigsgaard took the match by a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 score.
On court four, No. 43 Telles defeated Ivan 6-4, 7-6 (3) to give Texas a lead in the match.
Sixteenth-ranked Galarneau and No. 118 Ito battled on court one. Galarneau won the first set by a 6-2 score, but Ito took a slight edge in the final sets, winning the second set 7-5 and the third set 6-4 to put the Longhorns a court away from clinching.
Igor, who also extended his match into a third set after losing the first set, faced No. 62 Harrison Scott on court three. It was Scott who ultimately earned the 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5 victory and gave the Longhorns the match.
UP NEXT:
NC State heads to Knoxville, Tenn. on Friday, March 9 for its last non-conference match of the regular season at No. 25 Tennessee. First serve is set for 2 p.m. from the Goodfriend Tennis Center.
RESULTS:
Texas 4, NC State 1
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (1, 3)
1. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. #3 Rodrigo Banzer/Leonardo Telles (Texas) 6-4
2. Alexis Galarneau/Tadas Babelis (NC State) vs. Adrian Ortiz/Christian Sigsgaard (Texas) 5-5, unfinished
3. Georgiy Malyshev/Michael Ogden (NC State) def. Colin Markes/Yuya Ito (Texas) 6-4
Singles Results
Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 3
1. #118 Yuya Ito (Texas) def. #16 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
2. Christian Sigsgaard (Texas) def. Tadas Babelis (Texas) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. #62 Harrison Scott (Texas) def. Igor Saveljic (NC State) 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-5
4. #43 Leonardo Telles (Texas) def. Ivan Saveljic (NC State) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) vs. Adrian Ortiz (Texas) 1-0, unfinished
6. Robert Turzak (NC State) vs. #111 Rodrigo Banzer (Texas) unfinished
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
Players Mentioned
