Wolfpack Travels To State Of Florida For Matches At Florida State, Miami

March 22, 2018

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RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 23 NC State men's tennis team (11-3, 1-2 ACC) is set to continue ACC competition this weekend as it visits No. 20 Florida State Friday evening and Miami Sunday afternoon. The Wolfpack's matchup against the Seminoles is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. from the Scott Speicher Tennis Center, and the Pack will face Miami at 12 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. Both matches will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Wolfpack edged Virginia Tech 4-3 in Blacksburg, Va. Sunday to earn its first conference win of the season. NC State picked up wins on courts two, three, five, and six to secure the victory, its 11th of the season and sixth on the road.

Robert Turzak put the Pack on the board first, taking care of Fred Mesmer 6-3, 6-0. Ivan Saveljic followed with his own straight-sets win over Feliksas Sakalauskas, whom he beat 6-2, 6-4. Tadas Babelis came back from a set down and defeated Alex Ribeiro 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Igor Saveljic also won in three sets 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 over Jason Kros.

WOLFPACK IN THE RANKINGS:
As of the March 20 release of the Oracle/ITA Team Rankings, NC State is ranked No. 23 as a team. It marks the fifth consecutive week that the Wolfpack sits in the top 25.

Individually, Alexis Galarneau is ranked No. 24 in singles. He and Michael Ogden sit at No. 63 in doubles, and the Wolfpack also has another ranked doubles pair in No. 53 Igor and Ivan.

PACK TRACKS:
Igor tallied the team-best 50th win of his career in NC State's road win at Virginia Tech Sunday. The junior defeated Jason Kros to earn the milestone victory and clinch the match for the Pack.

NC State has yet to drop a match on the road this season through six away contests. Four of those road wins have been against Power Five opponents, and one was over a ranked foe when the Wolfpack visited and defeated No. 22 Tennessee.

SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES:
Florida State comes into Friday's matchup having lost only one match in dual play. The Seminoles are 19-1 on the season, including a perfect 11-0 at home and 3-0 in conference play. Among its 19 wins, Florida State has victories over three ranked opponents - No. 24 Texas Tech, No. 8 Florida, and No. 50 Clemson. The team's only loss came at the hands of 11th-ranked Baylor.

The Seminoles are led by a seasoned group of players, as senior Guy Iradukunda (No. 18) and redshirt senior Lucas Poullain (No. 61) both find themselves ranked in the top 100. They are joined by junior Aziz Dougaz, who is ranked No. 76 and is 9-1 at the top singles spot for Florida State.

Florida State has four pairs featured in the doubles rankings- Iradukunda/Alex Knaff (No. 18), Jose Gracia/Poullain (No. 35), Dougaz/Iradukunda (No. 60), and Terrance Whitehurst/Terrell Whitehurst (No. 69).

SCOUTING THE HURRICANES:
Sitting at 8-6 overall, Miami is 0-3 in the ACC and has yet to beat a ranked team this season. The Hurricanes have been solid at home, winning all seven matches that they have played in Coral Gables.

Christian Langmo is Miami's only ranked player at No. 90. He and Adria Soriano Barrera pair up to form the nation's 50th-ranked doubles pair.

NC State has won its last three matches against the Hurricanes and has taken five of the last six since 2012.

#GoPack | @PackMensTennis

Wolfpack Travels To State Of Florida For Matches At Florida State, Miami

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Players Mentioned

Tadas Babelis

Alexis Galarneau

Michael Ogden

Igor Saveljic

Ivan Saveljic

Robert Turzak