NC State
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#9 Mississippi State
#22 Pack Earns Top-10 Win Over #9 Mississippi State, Qualifies for National Team Indoors
1/26/2025 6:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Starkville, Miss. – 22nd-ranked NC State men's tennis took down ninth-ranked Mississippi State by a 4-1 score Sunday evening to advance to the 2025 ITA Division I Men's National Team Indoor Championship next month.
NC State earned its first top-10 win since the 2022 season Sunday evening with a riveting win over ninth-ranked Mississippi State in Starkville to earn a qualification for the 2025 ITA DI Men's National Team Indoor Championship tournament.
Facing two top-20 ranked duos in doubles didn't sway the Wolfpack's fight for the doubles point to start the match. On court two, Jules Leroux and Luca Staeheli came up with a commanding 6-3 victory over Mississippi State's 20th-ranked Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano to put the Pack in front.
Courts one and three went wire-to-wire on the potential of who would finish first or secure the doubles point for their team. On three, Martin Borisiouk and Noah Gabriel battled through an extensive tiebreaker to look for the second victory needed but it was Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek on court one who finished their tiebreaker first, securing the doubles point and a top-10 duo win.
Moving into singles with the 1-0 edge on the scoreboard, the Pack faced ranked opponents on courts one, two, four, and five.
Staeheli continued to prove he was there to handle business after a successful doubles win, followed by a dominating 6-0, 6-4 singles point on court three to put his team up 2-0.
Van Sambeek fell on court four in two sets to allow the Bulldogs to get on the scoreboard and keep their options open.
Ultimately, Shick came up with another impressive ranked win on the day to put the Wolfpack in arms reach of the top-10 victory. He was able to cruise through his first set 6-2, but had to work through a tiebreaker in the second set to take down 45th-ranked Petar Jovanovic.
Very quickly after, the redshirt-freshman Leroux sealed his two set win on court six to seal the deal for NC State.
Up Next
The Pack stays on the road for the next four matches, starting at No. 25 Michigan next Friday, January 31 at 5 p.m.
Results
#22 NC State 4, #9 Mississippi State 1
Location: Rula Tennis Pavilion in Starkville, Miss.
Attendance: 205
Doubles
1 | #102 Braden Shick & Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) def. #9 Petar Jovanovic & B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) 7-6 (7-4)
2 | Jules Leroux & Luca Staeheli (NCSU) def. #20 Niccolo Baroni & Mario Martinez Serrano (MS) 6-3
3 | Dusan Milanovic & Michal Novansky (MS) vs. Martin Borisiouk & Noah Gabriel (NCSU) 6-6 (9-9), unfinished
Order of Finish: (2, 1)
Singles
1 | #17 Braden Shick (NCSU) def. #45 Petar Jovanovic (MS) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
2 | #103 B. Sanchez Martinez (MS) vs. #26 Martin Borisiouk (NCSU) 3-6, 4-5, unfinished
3 | #97 Luca Staeheli (NCSU) def. Dusan Milanovic (MS) 6-0, 6-4
4 | #72 Niccolo Baroni (MS) def. Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) 6-3, 6-3
5 | #81 M. Martinez Serrano (MS) vs. William Manning (NCSU) 7-5, 4-3, unfinished
6 | Jules Leroux (NCSU) def. R. Ferrer Guimaraes (MS) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: (3, 4, 1, 6)
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,4,1,6
Players Mentioned
