Getting back on track after a few weeks of chaos, No. 11 NC State men’s tennis dominated NC Central 6-1.
The Pack (5-1) is still playing indoors during this portion of the season, but the elements have had a massive impact over the last few weeks. The last time NC State took to the court was Jan. 23, where it fell 4-2 to No. 18 Duke. Since then, the red-and-white has had three matches moved or canceled, including this contest versus the Eagles (0-2) which was moved up to noon after being originally scheduled for 6 p.m.
Two of its matches were cancelled, both versus Power Four opponents — Tennessee and then-No. 14 South Carolina.
Able to get its match in, the Pack took advantage of a good opportunity to reload and get back into the swing of things, winning five of six singles matches and taking the doubles point.
Leading the Pack on Court 1, No. 9 senior Martin Borisiouk dominated NC Central’s Naresh Bharathy 6-0, 6-3 with a decisive win after falling last time out versus Duke — a great sign for a player recovering from injury.
Also taking the win on a high court was redshirt sophomore Jules Leroux, who also is coming off of a loss in the Duke match. His victory, though, was not so filled with encouragement as he dropped the second set and was forced into a tie-break with the unranked Rodrigo Alves.
On Court 3, the 22-year-old freshman Ainius Sabaliauskas picked up a solid 6-1, 6-3 victory over Kareem Abdul Hakim. Another freshman, the young Charlie Camus, also picked up a victory in straight sets, defeating Pol Puig Montiel 6-4, 6-0 on Court 4.
The lone loss for the Wolfpack came as sophomore Noah Gabriel was forced to end the match early, walking over after dropping the first game in the second set. Gabriel won the first set 6-4, and was likely on pace to help the Wolfpack complete a sweep.
The match on Court 6 was the last to finish as freshman Darius Pop defeated Santiago Pinna 6-2, 7-5.
Back on track, the Pack is set to face a pair of Ivy League opponents, first hosting Princeton Friday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. Then NC State will head to Massachusetts to face Harvard Sunday, Feb. 8 at noon.
