CARY, N.C. — Just 10 days ago, NC State men’s tennis handed Wake Forest a loss in an electric match in Raleigh. Traditionally, Wake has gotten the better of the Wolfpack, but the red-and-white played one of its better matches of the season on the way to a 4-2 win.
Well, the Demon Deacons took that personally.
It was only fate that the two squads faced each other once again. This time it was in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championships at Cary Tennis Park, where Wake Forest (25-10, 7-5 ACC) reversed its fortunes and exacted its revenge, beating the Wolfpack (15-9, 9-3 ACC) 4-2.
While the red-and-white looked like it might pull off a miraculous comeback after falling down 0-3, the Demon Deacons warded off the Pack’s attempts at a come-from-behind victory and ended NC State’s ACC Championship bid after just one match.
“Great college tennis match, both teams gave everything,” said head coach Kyle Spencer. “Credit to Wake Forest, they had just a little bit extra at the end and thought our guys left it all out there — so proud of them for that. This one, this one will hurt.”
The doubles round started out with a bang — two tiebreakers on courts one and two after redshirt sophomore Braden Shick and sophomore Fons Van Sambeek rolled their opponents 6-1 on court three. While NC State needed only one of the two courts, the Demon Deacons won both breakers to take the all-important doubles point.
Everything was turning up Wake Forest to start the subsequent singles round. The Deacons used straight-set wins over fifth-year senior Rafa Izquierdo Luque and Shick to build a daunting 3-0 lead.
From there, Wake Forest was mere points away from a 4-0 clinch, especially with a match point against senior Robin Catry on court three. However, with his and his team’s back against the wall, Catry served through two straight match points in his second set, eventually storming back to take the set and keep his team alive.
Catry’s heroics on four bought time for Van Sambeek to complete his 6-2, 7-5 win on court four. Soon after, the senior won his second set, and with sophomore Joseph Wayand and junior Luca Staeheli fighting in their respective third sets, there was a path — albeit a narrow one — for an improbable Wolfpack victory.
Wayand took the next steps towards that goal with his 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win on court six, making it 3-2, and putting that much more fear into the Wake fans in attendance. The legendary reverse sweep was in sight, but the Demon Deacons got a hold of themselves and ended the comeback bid by finalizing a win over Staeheli on court two. Despite Catry’s heroics, he was the only NC State player whose match went unfinished.
While this loss marks the end of NC State’s run in the 2023 ACC Championships, the Wolfpack still has the NCAA Championships to look forward to, where it has a chance to host in the first round of the tournament.
No matter where it plays, though, the red-and-white will undoubtedly take this loss to heart. Its resiliency displayed against the Demon Deacons was undeniable, a good sign for those excited about the Pack’s remaining 2023 postseason prospects.
“We’ll be ready for the NCAAs, trust me,” Spencer said. “I’m excited about this group. And as you saw tonight, even when we’re down, there’s no quit in us and so I’m really excited for this group moving forward into the next part of the postseason.”
The first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships begin on Friday, May 5.
