NC State
South Carolina
Pack Records Top-10 Win over #6 South Carolina, 4-1
3/23/2022 7:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH - The NC State men's tennis team defeated No. 6 South Carolina in a 4-1 decision on Wednesday, defeating the Gamecocks for the first time since 2016.
The win is the Pack's first over a top-10 opponent since it defeated then-No. 4 Texas in March of 2020.
DOUBLES RECAP
Doubles competition was a battle on all three courts. NC State was the first team with a win as Collin Shick and Fons Van Sambeek defeated Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel, 6-3. South Carolina got a doubles win of their own on court two with Raphael Lambling and James Story's 6-2 win over Braden Shick and Damien Salvestre.
In a top-20 battle on court one, No. 19 Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli came out victorious. The duo gutted out a 7-5 win over 13th-ranked Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson.
SINGLES RECAP
The squad opened singles with the team-score advantage, but South Carolina evened things up with No. 3 Rodrigues' 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 82 Rafa Izquierdo Luque.
NC State struck back as Staeheli defeated Thomson 7-5, 6-1 on court three. He was followed moments later by Martins Rocens' 7-5, 6-3 win over Lambling. Rocens' match put NC State one win away from clinching the victory.
No. 108 Catry sealed the NC State win with a gutsy victory on court two. He defeated 57th-ranked Samuel in a three-set 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-3 decision to clinch the Pack's fifth top-25 win of the season.
STRAIGHT FROM THE PACK: HEAD COACH KYLE SPENCER
"Great win today for the guys," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "I'm so proud of them and happy for our program. South Carolina has become one of the nation's elite, and to have them on the schedule and at home and pull off such a big win is super exciting. Doubles has been not our best over the last few matches, and I'm excited that we rectified that a little bit today.
"Just big battles on every court in singles. I thought the guys did a really good job of seizing those first sets. Robin's opponent, Toby Samuel, is such a warrior out there and didn't let us have that second set in the match. Robin had to dig deep in the third, and I'm really proud of the way he closed it out. It was a total team effort. I'm really excited for where we're starting to go with our young squad and am excited to get back into ACC play.
"It's a big week with four matches, but the guys are really excited and looking forward to all those matches. Just want to say thank you to Wolfpack Nation that came out today and gave us a huge boost, especially the men's soccer team. Just another great win for the guys and a great day for the Wolfpack. Go Pack!"
UP NEXT
The Pack goes on the road, traveling to 11th-ranked Virginia for a 3 p.m. matchup Friday, March 25 and a competition at Virginia Tech Sunday, March 27 at 12 p.m.
RESULTS
NC State 4, #6 South Carolina 1
Doubles
Order of finish: (2,3,1)
1. #19 Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (ST) def. #13 Daniel Rodrigues/Connor Thomson (SC) 7-5
2. Collin Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (ST) def. Jake Beasley/Toby Samuel (SC) 6-3
3. Raphael Lambling/James Story (SC) def. Braden Shick/Damien Salvestre (ST) 6-2
Singles
Order of finish: (1,3,4,2)
1. #3 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. #82 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (ST) 6-1, 6-3
2. #108 Robin Catry (ST) def. #57 Toby Samuel (SC) 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3
3. Luca Staeheli (ST) def. Connor Thomson (SC) 7-5, 6-1
4. Martins Rocens (ST) def. Raphael Lambling (SC) 7-5, 6-3
5. Damien Salvestre (ST) vs. James Story (SC) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
6. Fons Van Sambeek (ST) vs. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-1, 4-5, unfinished
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Players Mentioned
