NC State Falls Short To Duke 4-0 At ITA Kickoff

DURHAM, NC- No. 23 NC State faced a tough loss against No. 8 Duke 4-0 this weekend in the first round of the ITA National indoor championships Saturday, Jan. 27.

The Pack returned to North Carolina 2-1, after it's first road match against ranked opponent Harvard where the Wolfpack took its first team loss of the season.

Pack struggled to pull through after a strong fight against well coached Duke. Bringing something new to the table Luca Staeheli, and Robin Catry took an early lead in doubles play 6-5 against opponents Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas. The doubles duo made their first appearance as a pair together this season keeping fans on the edge of their seats in a close match against their Blue Devil opponents. However, court two and three beat them to the finish line to give Duke the advantage taking the doubles point 1-0.

A statement from Head Coach Kyle Spencer:
"Credit to Duke, they played a very complete match. Doubles, they were comprehensive in comparison to our level. We need to get better at that. Then the singles were some very good matches, and some matches where they just closed out sets a little bit better than we did. Tomorrow, a very tough match against Cal, who we have a lot of respect for. Tough turn around, but glad we get another opportunity to play, and we look forward to the battle tomorrow."

Junior Damien Salvestre made his first singles appearance of the season battling opponent Andrew Zhang. Salvestre played a close first set but fell short to opponent Andrew Zhang 6-4,6-2.

Up Next:

The Pack will head on to play Cal Sunday, Jan. 28 at 9:00am in the consolation round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

Singles:

1. Garrett Johns (DU) vs. #120 Robin Catry (ST) 5-7, 3-2, unfinished

2. #21 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Fons Van Sambeek (ST) 6-2, 6-4

3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Damien Salvestre (ST) 6-4, 6-2

4. Connor Krug (DU) vs. Luca Staeheli (ST) 5-7, 4-5, unfinished

5. Andrew Dale (DU) vs. Braden Shick (ST) 2-6, 6-6 (3-3), unfinished

6. Jake Krug (DU) def. #52 Joseph Wayand (ST) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles:

1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (ST) 5-6, unfinished

2. #14 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #13 Martin Borisiouk/Joseph Wayand (ST) 6-4

3. Connor Krug/Faris Khan (DU) def. Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (ST) 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,3)

#PackRisin | @packmenstennis

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Martin Borisiouk

Robin Catry

Damien Salvestre

Braden Shick

Luca Staeheli

Fons Van Sambeek

Joseph Wayand