North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Clemson University
No. 25 Wolfpack Guts Out 4-1 Win Over Clemson
4/8/2018 4:38:00 PM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. - In its final home match of the regular season, the No. 25 NC State men's tennis team completed another perfect weekend with a 4-1 victory over Clemson Sunday afternoon.
With the win, NC State improves to 15-5 (5-4 ACC), while the Tigers drop to 9-7 (3-6 ACC). The Wolfpack's victory wraps up a successful regular season at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, during which NC State posted a 9-3 home record. That is the Pack's best mark since it went 11-3 at home during the 2013-14 season.
"I'm proud of the guys," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "This was a really tough weekend. I felt that both teams we played really came in and gave us a battle. Our guys did a great job of adjusting from outdoors to indoors today. We just have some guys that, as a team, are really up for the battle, for the challenge, for the competition, and are excited to practice. As a coach, that's all you can ask for."
Playing in front of an electric crowd, NC State powered past Clemson on doubles courts two and three to take the opening point for the fifth-straight match.
No. 67 Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic broke Sam Edwards and Yizhou Li to take a 3-1 lead in the match. The Wolfpack brothers ultimately won 6-3.
After getting broken to open the match, Tadas Babelis and Georgiy Malyshev battled back, getting a pair of breaks of their own. They defeated Carlos Kelaidis and Marshall Dagostine 6-4.
Wolfpack 1, Clemson 0
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 8, 2018
This match point gives Igor and Ivan the 6-3 win. Babelis and Malyshev follow with a 6-4 win on court three.
Doubles point: ours! Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/yIl6eEQjZb
No. 49 Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden were up a break 6-5 and serving for the match against Clemson's No. 34 Alex Favrot and Simon Baudry before the doubles point was clinched and play was halted.
Singles proved to be a tight battle with each of the first four courts on extending into third sets.
No. 37 Alexis Galarneau picked up another win against a ranked opponent, this time against Clemson senior Favrot, who is ranked 59th nationally. Galarneau broke Favrot to go up 5-3 in the first set, which he went on to serve out and win 6-3, but Favrot bounced back to take the second set 6-4.
In the third set, Galarneau was boosted by another timely break of Favrot's final service game, and the Wolfpack sophomore served the match out to take the final set 6-4. His win marked his second over a ranked opponent this weekend.
Wolfpack 2, Clemson 0
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 8, 2018
No. 37 @tennisgalarneau holds serve to defeat No. 59 Alex Favrot 6-3, 4-6, 4-6. Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/K7c6N0L3vC
Igor forced a third set on court two after going a set down, but Baudry prevailed by a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 score.
Ivan extended his team-best winning streak to six matches with a win over Liu on court four. The two split sets, with Ivan winning the first 6-4 and Liu winning the second 6-2. Both players held strong to their serves in the third set. Ivan won his service game to go up 5-4 and then managed to break Liu on deciding point to take the final frame 6-4.
Wolfpack 3, Clemson 1
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 8, 2018
That's a break and that's a match! Ivan beats Yizhou Liu 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to put us a match away from clinching. Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/l5Ub1aZOHu
With NC State holding a 3-1 lead in the team score, Babelis found himself in a tight matchup against Edwards on court three. Each of the first two sets were determined by tiebreakers. Edwards won the tiebreaker for the first set 8-6, but Babelis won the buster for the second set 7-3 to force a deciding third set. The Wolfpack freshman won the final game on break point, taking the third set by a 6-4 score. Babelis's victory secured the match for NC State.
WOLFPACK WINS 4-1!
— NC State Tennis (@PackMensTennis) April 8, 2018
Tadas Babelis guts out a 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory against Sam Edwards.
We improve to 15-5 (5-4 ACC) and went 9-3 at home this regular season. Pack Risin'! pic.twitter.com/Tz9CGONLDL
"I'm excited for the team, for the program, for the fans, the support staff," said Spencer. "While the season is not over, for right now, that's our last home match."
Our home matches would not have been possible without the help of our NC State Athletics family. Thank you from NC State men's tennis to these people, among many others, for helping our home matches to be a success:
Michael Lipitz - Deputy AD and Sport Administrator
Casey Godwin, Tyler Cox, and Ann Claire Roberson - Game Managers
Jodie Cahoon - Equipment Manager
Bob Erickson, Nathan Abraham, Chris Norris, and Chad White - Facilities
Austin Frank, Libby Peters, and John Garcia - Sports Medicine
Matti Smith and Hailey Loftin - Athletics Communications
William Hogan, Justin Anderson, and Bailey Edwards - Marketing
Matt Curry - Video
RESULTS:
No. 25 NC State 4, Clemson 1
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (2, 3)
1. #49 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (NC State) vs. #34 Alex Favrot/Simon Baudry (Clemson) 6-5, unfinished
2. #67 Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. Sam Edwards/Yizhou Liu (Clemson) 6-3
3. Tadas Babelis/Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) def. Carlos Kelaidis/Marshall Dagostine (Clemson) 6-4
Singles Results
Order of finish: (1, 2, 4, 3)
1. #37 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) def. #59 Alex Favrot (Clemson) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. Simon Baudry (Clemson) def. Igor Saveljic (NC State) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3. Tadas Babelis (NC State) def. Sam Edwards (Clemson) 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. Yizhou Liu (Clemson) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
5. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) vs. Carlos Kelaidis (Clemson) 2-6, 2-0, unfinished
6. Robert Turzak (NC State) vs. Marshall Dagostine (Clemson) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
Players Mentioned
