Senior Alexis Galarneau is the No. 1-seeded player on the NC State men’s tennis team and one of the top 100 rated singles players in the nation. After a 10-1 singles start this season and an 11-4 start for the team as a whole, it was looking like a promising season for the Pack.
Unfortunately, the season ended abruptly due to COVID-19, and just like that, Galarneau’s senior year was over. The 10-1 start for Galarneau was the best start of his illustrious career in Raleigh.
“As for me individually, I was playing really well,” Galarneau said. “I was finally healthy, and I don’t know how the rankings would have gone, but at the NCAA individual tournament I think I could have taken it all, so it’s unfortunate.”
Galarneau was going for his second straight appearance in the singles bracket at the NCAA Championship. He qualified previously in his junior year, the same season in which he also made All-ACC honors for the third time.
Galarneau was not just disappointed about his senior season coming to an end but also about the team not being able to finish the season.
“We kept improving and improving … I think we had a chance to win in the first two rounds as well as the super regional and then after that, I think we could have even been in the final four or so,” Galarneau said. “We had a young team, but all the guys were really good competitors, and we had really good chemistry, so I could have seen us top five in the country.”
Although Galarneau is known more for his ability as a singles player, he is still a very strong doubles player. He plays No. 2 doubles for the Pack with junior partner Robert Turzak, and they started off the season with an amazing 11-1 record together.
“It was interesting to play with Robert,” Galarneau said. “He was really good from the baseline. He keeps it simple, and that’s always something nice about your partner when you know what he is about to do. That way we were really efficient together. We have really good energy, and we enjoy playing doubles together. I thought we were probably going to be ranked pretty high even though we were playing second doubles but things happen.”
This was not the end that Galarneau wanted for his senior season, but he does have an option to return since the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for spring sports athletes. Pack tennis fans will never forget the great play of Alexis Galarneau during his three and a half years with the team.
