The fourth-seeded NC State men's tennis team (11-7, 7-3) defeated 12-seed Florida State (9-16, 2-10 ACC) in the ACC Championships Quarterfinals on Friday, taking down the Seminoles 4-1
The Wolfpack's win earned them a spot in the Semifinals for only the second time in program history since the team tournament began. NC State will take on one-seed Virginia in the match.
DOUBLES
NC State came out swinging in doubles play, jumping out to early leads on courts one and two. The team took both courts to win the point. Alexis Galarneau and Robin Catry were the first with a win, defeating Sebastian Arcila and Alex Knaff 6-1.
No. 31 Tadas Babelis and Yannai Barkai claimed a ranked win as they took down 43rd-ranked Loris Pourroy and Marcus Walters, 6-3. The Wolfpack was ahead on court three when the doubles point was clinched as Robert Turzak and Collin Shick were up 4-2.
SINGLES
No. 22 Galarneau made quick work of his first set against No. 110 Pourroy, taking it 6-3. He went on to defeat Pourroy 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to clinch the match.
NC State split the first sets with the Seminoles, taking the first one on courts one, three and six. Barkai was the first singles competitor of the day with a win, defeating Chase Wood 6-3, 6-0.
Catry tabbed the second win of the day with a 7-5, 6-2 straight-set win over Arcila.
Florida State got on the board with Andreja Petrovic's 6-4, 6-4 win over Rafa Izquierdo Luque, but the Wolfpack quickly answered with a Galarneau's match-clinching victory.
STRAIGHT FROM THE PACK: HEAD COACH KYLE SPENCER
"Great team effort today," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "Obviously we hadn't played a lot lately, so I was really impressed. The guys came out very strong in doubles on all three courts.
"In singles, all the guys were fighting so hard, and it was really great to see that we were in it for a big battle. Credit to the guys that won their match but also the guys that were left out there fighting. It's great for the program to reach our second ACC Semifinals in a row. We're excited for another big challenge tomorrow against Virginia."
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Virginia claimed the top seed in the ACC Championships behind an undefeated conference record and checked into the latest Oracle/ITA rankings at No. 6 in the country.
The Cavaliers defeated eight-seed Georgia Tech in its quarterfinal matchup by a score of 4-3. The match came down to a tiebreaker on singles court two that ultimately went to Virginia.
Four of Virginia's singles competitors are ranked: Carl Sderlund at No. 9, Jeffrey Von Der Schulenberg at No. 44, Iaki Montes De La Torre at No. 55 and Ryan Goetz at No. 99. Sderlund is ranked in doubles with William Woodall at No. 10 and Woodall is additionally ranked with Chris Rodesch at No. 87.
RESULTS
#25 NC State 4, Florida State 1
Doubles
Order of finish: (2,3)
#31 Tadas Babelis/Yannai Barkai (NC State) def. #43 Loris Pourroy/Marcus Walters (Florida State) 6-3
Robin Catry/Alexis Galarneau (NC State) def. Sebastian Arcila/Alex Knaff (Florida State) 6-1
Robert Turzak/Collin Shick (NC State) vs. Andreja Petrovic/Chase Wood (Florida State) 4-2, unfinished
Singles
Order of finish: (6,3,4,1)
#22 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) def. #110 Loris Pourroy (Florida State) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Tadas Babelis (NC State) vs. Alex Knaff (Florida State) 4-6, 6-6, unfinished
Robin Catry (NC State) def. Sebastian Arcila (Florida State) 7-5, 6-2
Andreja Petrovic (Florida State) def. #79 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NC State) 6-4, 6-4
Robert Turzak (NC State) vs. Marcus Walters 2-6, 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
Yannai Barkai (NC State) def. Chase Wood (Florida State) 6-3, 6-0
UP NEXT
NC State faces one-seed Virginia Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m. to vie for a spot in the 2021 ACC Championships Final.
regular season
February 26 Virginia 5 NC State 2