NC State
#1 Wake Forest University
No. 25 NC State Falls At No. 1 Wake Forest, 4-3
4/22/2018 4:36:00 PM | Men's Tennis
April 22, 2018
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The 25th-ranked NC State men's tennis team put up an impressive fight but fell just short to No. 1 Wake Forest, 4-3, at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Wolfpack concludes its regular season with a 16-7 (6-6 ACC) record, while the Demon Deacs improve to 22-2 (11-1 ACC) to end the regular season.
NC State will enter the 2018 ACC Tennis Championships as the No. 7 seed. The Wolfpack will first face No. 10 seed Miami, with that matchup set for 5 p.m. Thursday at the Cary Tennis Park.
"I thought we did a great job in the doubles today," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "All three doubles teams executed very well, and two and three just happened to finish first. Wake Forest is a good team, and we're a good team. Any time you go on the road, it's going to be a tough match. We didn't have quite enough to get over the hump today, but I'm happy with the process and where the team is heading. I really feel like we're playing our best tennis at the end of the year, and that's what you want as a coach."
The Wolfpack continued its consistency in doubles play, winning the opening point for the seventh time in its last eight matches. The pairs across all three courts held serve for the beginning doubles games, many of which came down to deciding points.
Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden, the nation's 68th-ranked duo, broke No. 34 Petros Chrysochos and Bar Botzer in the final game of their match on court one to take down the Wake Forest pair by a 6-4 score.
Pack Risin'!
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 22, 2018
#68 @tennisgalarneau and @mikeogden07 take down #34 Chrysochos/Botzer on break point! pic.twitter.com/733YdEdlgw
On court three, Georgiy Malyshev and Tadas Babelis broke to go up 6-5 and served out the match for a 7-5 win over Alan Gadjiev and Borna Gojo.
Wolfpack 1, Wake Forest 0
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 22, 2018
The doubles point is OURS!! Georgiy Malyshev and Tadas Babelis hold serve for a 6-4 win over Gojo/Gadjiev. Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/G6OzGZJuXD
Babelis and Malyshev have won nine of their last ten doubles contests, with one unfinished contest against Notre Dame, and have not dropped a doubles match since March 16.
Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic were hanging tight with No. 26 Ian Dempster and Skander Mansouri before their match on court one was stopped at 5-5.
Wake Forest got on the board in singles with the first win coming from fifth-ranked Chrysochos. He defeated No. 116 Igor 6-3, 6-3 on court two.
Shortly after, the Deacs jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the match as Botzer beat Ivan in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
In a ranked battle on court one, No. 6 Gojo edged No. 43 Galarneau 6-4, 6-4 to put Wake Forest a match away from the clinch.
NC State drew back to within one, as Malyshev completed a gutsy three-set victory over Rrezart Cungu on court six, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Wolfpack 2, Wake Forest 3
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 22, 2018
Georgiy Malyshev breaks Rrezart Cungu on deciding point for the 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win. Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/2TVmxwJtlN
Babelis and 40th-ranked Mansouri faced each other in a tight matchup on court three. Both sets extended into tiebreakers, and Mansouri held on to win 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) to clinch for Wake Forest.
Play continued on court five, where Robert Turzak and Eduardo Nava found themselves in a three setter. It was Turzak who emerged victorious 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for NC State's third and final team point of the afternoon.
Final: Wolfpack 3, Wake Forest 4
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 22, 2018
Robert Turzak defeats Eduardo Nava 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to complete our outing.
Next up, the ACC Championships at Cary Tennis Park. We'll know seed and opponent later this evening. pic.twitter.com/ZeSAomq5eA
UP NEXT:
The Wolfpack heads to Cary, N.C. for the 2018 ACC Tennis Championships at the Cary Tennis Park. The event runs April 25-29.
RESULTS:
No. 1 Wake Forest 4, No. 25 NC State 3
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (2, 3)
1. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) vs. #26 Ian Dempster/Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest) 5-5, unfinished
2. #68 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (NC State) def. #34 Petros Chrysochos/Bar Botzer (Wake Forest) 6-4
3. Tadas Babelis/Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) def. Alan Gadjiev/Borna Gojo (Wake Forest) 7-5
Singles Results
Order of finish; (2, 4, 1, 6, 3, 5)
1. #6 Borna Gojo (Wake Forest) def. #43 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 6-4, 6-4
2. #5 Petros Chrysochos (Wake Forest) def. #116 Igor Saveljic (NC State) 6-3, 6-3
3. #40 Skander Mansouri (Wake Forest) def. Tadas Babelis (NC State) 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3)
4. Bar Botzer (Wake Forest) def. Ivan Saveljic (NC State) 6-4, 6-3
5. Robert Turzak (NC State) def. Eduardo Nava (Wake Forest) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
6. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) def. Rrezart Cungu (Wake Forest) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
Players Mentioned
