#20 NC State Defeats Liberty, 4-0, in NCAA First Round

Friday, May 6

Raleigh, N.C.

4 PM

NC State

Liberty

#20 NC State Defeats Liberty, 4-0, in NCAA First Round

5/6/2022 7:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score (PDF)

RALEIGH - The No. 20 NC State men's tennis team (19-9) advanced to the second round of NCAA Tournament action with a 4-0 defeat of Liberty on Friday.

With the win, the Pack faces No. 19 Middle Tennessee State at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center Saturday, May 7 at 4 p.m.

STRAIGHT FROM THE PACK: HEAD COACH KYLE SPENCER

Hear from Head Coach @NCSt10sCoachKyl following today's NCAA Tournament win over Liberty ⬇️#GoPack | #PackRisin pic.twitter.com/C9OsQbo4fW
— NC State Men's Tennis 🐺🎾 (@PackMensTennis) May 6, 2022

DOUBLES RECAP
The Wolfpack opened its NCAA Tournament with a pair of doubles wins.

On court one, 54th-ranked Martins Rocens and Fons Van Sambeek made quick work of things with a 6-2 defeat of Nicaise Muamba and Rafael Marques de Silva.

Play was back-and-forth on courts two and three, but the Pack was able to come away with the team doubles point behind a comeback win by Braden Shick and Collin Shick. After facing a 3-4 deficit, the brothers won three straight games to get the 6-4 victory over Zion Heaven and Deji Thomas-Smith.

SINGLES RECAP
NC State won four of the five first sets that were completed, and two of its singles victories came in straight-set fashion.

On court four, Damien Salvestre cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Marques da Silva to bring home the first singles victory of the match.

Despite a tiebreaker in the first set, Rocens made quick work of the second set and got a 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Christiaan Worst to put NC State within reach of the team win.

The deciding match was played on court one where a three-set battle was underway. No. 98 Rafa Izquierdo Luque came out the victor with a gutsy 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Josh Wilson.

SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee holds the top-seeded spot in the Raleigh Regional and enters its second-round matchup with a record of 28-4. In the Blue Raiders' first NCAA Tournament match, the squad handily defeated UNCW, 4-0.

Stijn Slump checks into the singles rankings at 65th while Francisco Rocha is ranked 100th. Rocha is additionally ranked in doubles with Oskar Brostrom Poulsen at No. 70.

RESULTS
#20 NC State 4, Liberty 0
Doubles
Order of finish (1,3)

#54 Martins Rocens/Fons Van Sambeek (NC State) def. Nicaise Muamba/Rafael Marques da Silva (Liberty) 6-2
Robin Catry/Yannai Barkai (NC State) vs. Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (Liberty) 5-5
Braden Shick/Collin Shick (NC State) def. Zion Heaven/Deji Thomas-Smith 6-4

Singles
Order of finish: (4,3,1)

#98 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NC State) def. Josh Wilson (Liberty) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Robin Catry (NC State) vs. Nicaise Muamba (Liberty) 6-7(4), 7-6(5), unfinished
Martins Rocens (NC State) def. Rafael Marques da Silva (Liberty) 7-6(2), 6-1
Damien Salvestre (NC State) def. Christiaan Worst (Liberty) 6-3, 6-2
Fons Van Sambeek (NC State) vs. Thando Longwe-Smit (Liberty) 6-3, 1-2, unfinished
Braden Shick (NC State) def. Goncalo Ferreira (Liberty) 5-3, unfinished