Coming off a key victory against Virginia Tech this past Sunday, the No. 23 Wolfpack tennis team looks to keep its road win streak alive with a victory against Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday.
After losing its first two games in conference play, the Wolfpack (11-3, 1-2 ACC) found its rhythm at Virginia Tech and notched its first conference win with a 4-3 victory, extending its road win streak to six games.
The road trip continues against No. 20 Florida State (19-1, 3-0 ACC) which is currently on a 10-game win streak and hasn’t dropped a home match yet this season.
The Seminoles have been on a tear this year having only lost one game, while beating a top-10 team in rival Florida. Florida State has the No. 18 singles player in senior Guy Iradukunda, who has a 20-5 overall record this spring and with partner Alex Knaff is also the No. 18 doubles team.
Last year the Wolfpack gave the Seminoles a hard fought battle, but dropped the match by a score of 5-2 in Raleigh. The match was much closer than the score appears, as the doubles came down to a tiebreaker and four of the singles matches went to third sets.
Currently in the midst of a three-game road trip, the Wolfpack hopes to reenact its success from previous year’s three-game ACC road trip, where it went a perfect 3-0, while travelling all around the U.S.
Last year the Pack went from South Carolina to Indiana and finally Massachusetts before coming home. This year the travel is much less extensive as NC State faced Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, and now travels to Florida to face both the Seminoles and the Miami Hurricanes in one weekend.
The Wolfpack’s No. 24 sophomore Alexis Galarneau should be facing Iradukunda, who is a couple spots ahead of him in the standings. NC State will need a great effort from him and No. 53 junior doubles partners Igor Saveljic and Ivan Saveljic in order to bring home a victory and an upset of the Seminoles.
