The No. 14 NC State men’s tennis team will be on the road again this weekend, facing off against two Ivy League opponents. The trip will begin with a visit to the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, followed by a trip to neighboring New Jersey to face Princeton on Sunday.
Unbeaten and having already passed a few early season tests with a win against No. 17 Michigan and No. 23 Virginia, its first win against a Virginia team since 1999, NC State is playing well and hoping to grab another pair of wins this weekend.
Pennsylvania, while most recently notching a 7-0 win against Navy, also suffered a 7-0 defeat at the hands of No. 18 Tennessee to begin their season. Having only played two matches so far, it’s difficult to judge this team’s true skill. Kevin Zhu, however, is No. 88 in singles play and will be a tough matchup for NC State’s Alexis Galarneau.
Princeton is undefeated with two home wins against Drexel and Buffalo and is no doubt looking to keep that streak going when NC State comes to town. Princeton is formidable in both singles and doubles play, finishing 7-0 in both of its wins. NC State’s No. 32 doubles team of Tadas Babelis and Yannai Barkai will definitely be a challenge for anything Princeton has to offer.
Considering the fact that NC State started its season about a week before both these schools and has had a more rigorous schedule, the Wolfpack is in prime position for a fruitful weekend up north.
The match against Penn will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, and their match against Princeton will begin on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.
