NC State
Wake Forest
#25 Wolfpack to Recognize Seniors in Regular-Season Finale with #10 Wake Forest
4/16/2021 11:54:00 AM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH - The 25th-ranked NC State men's team (10-6, 7-2 ACC) is set to complete its regular season Saturday, April 17 as it welcomes No. 10 Wake Forest (25-5, 10-1 ACC) to the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. The team will recognize its five seniors in a post-match ceremony.
PACK IN THE RANKINGS
In the most recent Oracle/ITA team rankings, the Wolfpack checks in at No. 25 and has several team members in the singles and doubles rankings.
Fifth-year Alexis Galarneau holds the highest singles ranking by a member of the squad at No. 19. Junior Rafa Izquierdo Luque remained in the rankings at 76th.
In doubles, Yannai Barkai and Tadas Babelis notch the No. 23 spot while Babelis and Robin Catry check in at No. 35. Galarneau is ranked in doubles alongside partner Robert Turzak at No. 65.
LAST TIME OUT
The team defeated Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foe Clemson, 4-1, to post its seventh conference win of the season. Clemson took its only point of the match with a pair of doubles wins, but the Wolfpack followed up doubles action with four straight singles wins.
All six first sets in the match went to NC State, and none of the singles victories went to third sets. Barkai was the first to win and was followed soon after by Babelis. Catry claimed a ranked victory, and Turzak won his match to clinch the win for the team.
HISTORIC 2021 SENIOR CLASS
The NC State men's tennis class of 2021 made history together after posting four incredibly successful seasons. During the 2020 season, the team recorded multiple program-best rankings, finishing the season ranked sixth in the Oracle/ITA final team rankings.
The senior class achieved NCAA Tournament berths in 2018 and 2019 in addition to the program's first-ever ITA Indoor National Championship berth in 2020. NC State has risen steadily in the rankings since the seniors' first year on campus, finishing at No. 29 in 2018, at No. 23 in 2019, and at No. 6 in 2020.
In 2019, the squad earned its first-ever ACC Championship Semifinals berth and reached the Second Round of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2014. The members of the class of 2021 were strong in the classroom as well, highlighted by the team being honored with the 2018 Chancellor's Cup. The Chancellor's Cup is awarded each year to the NC State team with the highest team GPA.
SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
Wake Forest has dropped only five matches in 2021 and has claimed victories over three top-20 teams, including a recent win over then-No. 2 North Carolina.
Three members of the Demon Deacons are ranked in singles, led by Henri Squire at No. 11. Eduardo Nava checks in at 32nd in the country while Taha Baadi rounds out the singles rankings at No. 109. In doubles, Squire and Nava are ranked together at No. 17.
UP NEXT
The Wolfpack travels to Rome, Ga., to compete in the 2021 ACC Championships. The tournament is set to run April 21-25.
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
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