The NC State men's tennis team began its 2021 season on Saturday, competing against Duke and North Carolina at the ACC Challenge.
All of the weekend's matches contributed only to individual singles and doubles records, not team scores.
On Saturday, the Wolfpack competed in nine doubles matches against Duke. In the first round Tadas Babelis and Robin Catry defeated No. 46 Michael Heller and Luca Keist in a 6-3 decision.
The Blue Devils took the other four matches in the first round, but the Wolfpack surged back in the second round to take three of four matches. Ninth-ranked Babelis and Yannai Barkai got the 6-4 win over Sean Sculley and Garrett Johns while No. 23 Alexis Galarneau and Robert Turzak defeated 46th-ranked Heller and Keist 7-5.
Catry and Collin Shick rounded out the doubles wins for the Pack with a 6-4 victory over Samuel Rubell and Faris Khan.
NC State began singles action Sunday against Duke. Barkai was the lone member of the Wolfpack to secure a singles victory on Sunday, taking down Edu Gell 6-4, 6-3.
In play against North Carolina, Rafa Izquierdo Luque and Shick got the only doubles win of the day as they defeated Mark Dillon and Anuj Watane 7-5.
Singles action with North Carolina saw four wins for NC State as Izquierdo Luque got his first win of the season, defeating Simon Soendergaard 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.
No. 95 Babelis also recorded his first singles win in 2021 as he was victorious over Adam Neff in a 7-5, 6-3 decision.
Barkai saw a successful singles day as well, winning a 7-5, 6-1 match over Watane.
The final Wolfpack singles win on Monday came for Turzak as he got the 6-4, 6-0 victory over Dillon.
FULL RESULTS
SATURDAY
Doubles
No. 55 Sculley/Johns (DU) def. No. 23 Galarneau/Turzak (NCSU) 6-4
Babelis/Catry (NCSU) def. No. 46 Heller/Keist 6-3
Gell/Zhang (DU) def. Shick/Barkai (NCSU) 7-5
Rubell/Khan (DU) def. Rocens/Schrader (NCSU) 6-4
Vallabhaneni/Dale (DU) def. Smit/Izquierdo (NCSU) 6-2
No. 9 Babelis/Barkai (NCSU) def. Sculley/Johns (DU) 6-4
No. 23 Galarneau/Turzak (NCSU) def. No. 46 Heller/Keist (DU) 7-5
Gell/Zhang (DU) def. Rocens/Schrader (NCSU) 6-3
Catry/Shick (NCSU) def. Rubell/Khan (DU) 6-4
SUNDAY
Singles
Johns (DU) def. Catry (NCSU) 6-1, 6-4
Barkai (NCSU) def. Gell (DU) 6-4, 6-3
Sculley (DU) def. Rocens (NCSU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
Zhang (DU) def. No. 95 Babelis (NCSU) 7-6 (3), 6-2
Rubell (DU) def. Shick (NCSU) 6-0, 6-2
Heller (DU) def. Izquierdo (NCSU) 6-3, 6-3
Keist (DU) def. Smith (NCSU) 6-2, 6-1
Dale (DU) def. Schrader (NCSU) 6-1, 6-4
Khan (DU) def. Turzak (NCSU - retired) 5-7, 6-3
MONDAY
Doubles
Hijikata/Neff (UNC) d. #9 Babelis/Barkai (NCSU) 6-3
Murphy/Soendergaard (UNC) d. #23 Galarneau/Turzak (NCSU) 6-3
Izquierdo Luque/Collin Shick (NCSU) d. Dillon/Watane (UNC) 7-5
Singles
No. 55 Hijikata (UNC) d. No. 7 Galarneau (NCSU) 6-4, 7-5
Izquierdo Luque (NCSU) d. Soendergaard (UNC) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 95 Babelis (NCSU) d. Neff (UNC) 7-5, 6-3
Barkai (NCSU) d. Watane (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
Murphy (UNC) d. Rocens (NCSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Turzak (NCSU) d. Dillon (UNC) 6-4, 6-0