Pack’s Battle Against No. 2 Wake Forest Comes Up Just Short

RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 30 NC State men's tennis team once again put up an incredible fight against one of the nation's best teams but fell short to second-ranked Wake Forest, 4-2, Wednesday evening inside the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.

With the loss, the Pack falls to 11-7 (2-2 ACC), and the Demon Deacons improve to 19-3 (5-0 ACC).

"It was another great battle by the guys today," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "They played a really good doubles point, and I'm excited about what we're doing in doubles. Then, it was just a battle. Wake Forest is a great team, and they battle every position. Today, they were just a little bit too good. I'm very impressed with a few of the spots for us today, especially with Igor (Saveljic) at number two taking the defending NCAA champion to a third-set tiebreaker. It just shows how much he's improved and how well he's playing. We have to jump on the road and go to Boston College, which is a really tough place to play, and then finish up the weekend with another road match at Notre Dame. If we keep this level up, I'm super excited about the path for this team."

MATCH RECAP:
The Pack came out strong in the match by claiming the doubles point over the Demon Deacons with wins on courts one and three to take a 1-0 lead in the match. It marked only the fourth time this season and the first time in 2019 ACC action that Wake Forest has dropped the opening point.

The 57th-ranked duo of Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden gave the Wolfpack an edge in doubles as it handed No. 61 Borna Gojo and Alan Gadjiev their first doubles loss of the season in 6-3 fashion.

Tadas Babelis and Georgiy Malyshev took No. 26 Petros Chrysochos and Bar Botzer to a tiebreaker, which the Demon Deacons duo ultimately won 7-6 (2).

With the doubles point coming down to the match on court three, Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic came from behind to win 7-6 (3) over Siddhant Banthia and Julian Zlobinsky to secure the Pack's early 1-0 lead.

Wake Forest evened the score early in singles competition with a win on court one, but Yannai Barkai added to the Pack's tally with a 6-4, 7-5 straight-sets victory over Rrezart Cungu.

Igor pushed third-ranked Chrysochos to tiebreakers in both the second and third sets of a hard-fought match but came up just short as Chrysochos, the defending singles national champion, won 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).

Babelis forced a third set against No. 22 Botzer, but Botzer came up victorious 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4 to put the Demon Deacons a match away from the clinch.

It was Banthia on court six who defeated Malyshev 6-2, 6-2 to give Wake Forest the win.

UP NEXT:
NC State hits the road this weekend for its first away conference matches of the season. The Pack takes on Boston College on Friday, March 22 and Notre Dame on Sunday, March 24.

RESULTS:
Wake Forest 4, NC State 2
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (1, 2, 3)
1. #57 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (NC State) def. #61 Borna Gojo/Alan Gadjiev (Wake Forest) 6-3
2. #26 Petros Chrysochos/Bar Botzer (Wake Forest) def. Tadas Babelis/Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) 7-6 (2)
3. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. Siddhant Banthia/Julian Zlobinsky (Wake Forest) 7-6 (3)

Singles Results
Order of finish: (1, 4, 2, 3, 6)
1. #50 Borna Gojo (Wake Forest) def. #18 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 7-5, 6-1
2. #3 Petros Chrysochos (Wake Forest) def. Igor Saveljic (NC State) 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3)
3. #22 Bar Botzer (Wake Forest) def. Tadas Babelis (NC State) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4
4. Yannai Barkai (NC State) def. Rrezart Cungu (Wake Forest) 6-4, 7-5
5. Robert Turzak (NC State) vs. #79 Melios Efstathiou (Wake Forest) 5-7, 0-2, unfinished
6. Siddhant Banthia (Wake Forest) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) 6-2, 6-2

#GoPack | @PackMensTennis

Pack’s Battle Against No. 2 Wake Forest Comes Up Just Short

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Players Mentioned

Tadas Babelis

Yannai Barkai

Alexis Galarneau

Georgiy Malyshev

Michael Ogden

Igor Saveljic

Ivan Saveljic

Robert Turzak