Emma Dimig // Archive
Junior Alexis Galarneau, playing first seed in singles, returns a ball during a match against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. The Wolfpack lost 6-1 to the Gamecocks and won 7-0 against the North Carolina A&T Aggies later that day.
Following an outstanding undefeated weekend doubleheader for the No. 9 NC State men’s tennis team, including an upset over No. 4 ranked Texas, the Wolfpack will now turn to face the No. 2 ranked North Carolina. The match will take place this Wednesday, March 4, at 5 p.m. at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
After an 8-0 start, the Wolfpack (10-3) lost three straight matches at the ITA Indoor Championship. The Wolfpack may have gotten its season back on track with a great weekend and its first top-five win since the turn of the century, but it’ll take more than just momentum to take down the Tar Heels (11-1).
Head Coach Kyle Spencer thinks his team will stay hungry despite Sunday’s win. The Wolfpack has already faced plenty of tough matches and has yet to back down. It has three top-25 wins, including last Sunday’s victory over Texas, with two of the three coming on the road. It also competed with the top teams in the nation at the ITA Indoor Championship. Spencer noted that while the team is excited, it will be ready to go against UNC this Wednesday.
“There’s enough time in between that we can be refreshed and be ready to put out a great match,” Spencer said.
He went on to add that he knows the team has experience with this kind of quick turnaround.
“The guys who have been here are pretty conditioned to know when you roll into the ACC,” Spencer said. “It’s two huge matches, at least, a week and sometimes it’s three huge matches like it is this week.”
The Tar Heels are off to an 11-1 start this season with its only loss coming in the finals of the ITA Indoor Championship. They have also outscored opponents 55-7 through their first 12 matches. The Tar Heels have outplayed the Wolfpack in recent history. The Wolfpack has lost nine straight head to head matchups and went 1-12 against UNC in the past decade.
However, the Wolfpack is no stranger to beating teams it hasn’t fared well against in the past. The Wolfpack beat Virginia this year and Duke last year to end at least ten-match losing streaks against both teams.
The Wolfpack’s match will start at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center and as with any matchup against North Carolina, fans can expect an exciting showing, and that is exactly what Spencer is expecting.
“Creating a home-court advantage and getting the fans to see what our team is, how hard we fight, and how much we want to make the school proud,” Spencer said.