DURHAM, N.C. – The NC State men’s tennis team is headed to the ACC Championship semifinals for the first time in program history. The 20th-ranked Wolfpack defeated No. 29 Miami, 4-2, in the ACC quarterfinals Friday morning inside the Sheffield Tennis Center.
With the victory, the Pack improved to 18-9 on the year, marking the most wins in a single season since the 2016 dual match campaign during which it also won 18 matches. It was also NC State’s fourth consecutive win, making the Pack’s current winning streak its longest of the 2019 season.
The Wolfpack has now defeated Miami in its last three meetings against the Hurricanes, and the win was NC State’s seventh over a ranked opponent this season.
NC State will now turn its attention to the semifinal round, where it will face No. 1 seed Wake Forest on Saturday morning. The semifinal match is set for a 10 a.m. start at the Cary Tennis Park.
MATCH RECAP:
NC State kicked off the outing by claiming the doubles point for the fourth match in a row.
Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic cruised past Miami’s Bojan Jankulovski and Dane Dunlap, beating the Hurricane duo by a 6-1 score. It marked the ninth doubles victory in a row for the Wolfpack brothers, as they have compiled an impressive 9-1 clip against ACC opponents this season.
In a competitive contest on court one, the 42nd-ranked Wolfpack duo of Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden managed to pick up the first break of the match to take a 4-3 lead. The pair went on to defeat Adria Soriano Barrera and Stephen Madonia by a 6-4 score to clinch the doubles point for the Pack.
Tadas Babelis extended the Pack’s lead in singles action with a solid win in straight sets. His 6-1, 6-3 decision over Dunlap put NC State up 2-0 as a team.
Igor added a solid straight-sets win over Francisco Bastias on court two, as his 6-4, 6-3 victory put the Wolfpack a match away from the clinch at 3-0.
Miami drew back within one as it picked up a pair of singles wins on courts one and four, and the remaining matches on courts five and six extended into third sets.
Georgiy Malyshev and Yannai Barkai both split sets on their courts but managed to take quick control of their third sets. It was Malyshev who clinched the semifinals berth for the Wolfpack as the senior powered his way to the 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4 win over Miami’s William Grattan-Smith.
UP NEXT:
NC State will continue ACC Championship action on Saturday morning as it faces Wake Forest in the semifinals at 10 a.m. at the Cary Tennis Park.
RESULTS:
No. 20 NC State 4, No. 29 Miami 2
Doubles
Order of finish: (2, 1)
1. #42 Alexis Galarneau/Michael Ogden (NC State) def. Adria Soriano Barrera/Stephen Madonia (Miami) 6-4
2. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (NC State) def. Bojan Jankulovski/Dane Dunlap (Miami) 6-1
3. Tadas Babelis/Yannai Barkai (NC State) vs. Franco Aubone/Francisco Bastias (Miami) 5-4, unfinished
Singles
Order of finish: (3, 2, 4, 1, 5)
1. #42 Adria Soriano Barrera (Miami) def. #21 Alexis Galarneau (NC State) 6-4, 6-4
2. Igor Saveljic (NC State) def. Francisco Bastias (Miami) 6-4, 6-3
3. Tadas Babelis (NC State) def. Dane Dunlap (Miami) 6-1, 6-3
4. #81 Bojan Jankulovski (Miami) def. Robert Turzak (NC State) 6-2, 6-4
5. Yannai Barkai (NC State) vs. Franco Aubone (Miami) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 4-1, unfinished
6. Georgiy Malyshev (NC State) def. William Grattan-Smith (Miami) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4
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