NC State battled to the end, but ultimately couldn't get over the hump, falling to Wake Forest, 4-2, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
The No. 3 seed Wolfpack will now await its NCAA tournament fate. NC State (15-9) has appeared in the NCAA tournament every season since Kyle Spencer took over as head coach.
It was an earlier exit from the ACC tournament than expected. The Wolfpack defeated the Demon Deacons 4-2 on April 12. Wake Forest was able to get payback, first by getting the doubles point in a nail biter and then holding off an NC State rally in the singles.
"Great college tennis match," Spencer said. "I thought both teams gave everything. Credit to Wake Forest, they had just a little bit extra at the end. I thought our guys left it all out there. I am proud of them for that. This one will hurt."
Doubles (Wake Forest 1, NC State 0)
The all-important doubles point came down to the top matchup.
After spitting matchups on court three and two, all eyes were set on the showdown between No. 20 Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Joe Wayand and Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson.
The Demon Deacons duo edged the Pack pair, 7-6, in a tiebreaker.
Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek picked up the first win, blasting Juan Lopez de Azcona and Melios Efstathiou, 6-1.
The No. 2 doubles set featured a pair of ranked teams. No. 70 Jurabek Karimov and Luciano Tacchi, of Wake Forest, also needed a tiebreaker set to defeat No. 15 Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli, 7-6.
"Two tiebreakers, Wake just came up with the goods," Spencer said.
Singles Wake Forest 3, NC State 2)
Van Sambeek and Wayand picked up two NC State points in singles competition. Van Sambeek dominated his first set versus Luciano Tacchi, quickly winning 6-2. He completed the straight sets win with a 7-5 win in set two.
Wayand took the first set versus Lopez de Azcona, 6-3, before falling 3-6, in the second. Wayand pulled the Pack to within one, 3-2, with his win on court six, making things interesting late.
NC State needed Staeheli on court two and Catry on court three to pull out comeback wins.
Both players forced third sets. Staeheli battled versus Moroni, winning the first set 6-2. Moroni forced a third set, with most of the remaining crowd locked in on court two.
Staeheli kept it tight early as the two went back and forth. Once Moroni took a 5-4 lead, Staeheli wasn't able to strike again.
"We'll go and lick our wounds so to speak and get ready for the NCAA tournament," Spencer said.
Results
Singles
Order of finish: (1,4,5,6,2,)
1 - No. 5 Melios Efstathiou def. No. 58 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NCSU), 6-4, 6-2
2 - Filippo Moroni def. No. 73 Luca Staeheli (NCSU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
3 - Robin Catry (NCSU) vs. No. 98 Jurabek Karimov, 1-6, 7-5, 2-4, unfinished
4 - Matthew Thomson def. Braden Shick (NCSU), 7-5, 6-3
5 - Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) def. Luciano Tacchi, 6-2, 7-5
6 - Joe Wayand (NCSU) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles
Order of finish: (3,2,1)
1 - Filippo Moroni/Matthew Thomson def. No. 20 Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Joe Wayand (NCSU), 7-6 (9-7)
2 - No. 70 Jurabek Karimov/Luciano Tacchi def. No. 15 Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (NCSU), 7-6 (7-2)
3 - Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) def. Juan Lopez de Azcona/Melios Efstathiou, 6-1
Up next: NC State will participate in the NCAA tournament, which begins on May 5.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/4/21/mens-tennis-nc-state-comeback-attempt-comes-up-short-in-acc-tournament.aspx 