The NC State men’s tennis team is off to a strong start, advancing and placing in each tournament played, most recently claiming the doubles tournament title at the ITA Carolina Regional.

The ITA Carolina Regional, which began on Friday and ended Tuesday, featured teams from all over North and South Carolina. Those that competed for State were senior Simon Norenius, junior Nick Horton, junior Ian Dempster and sophomore Shoti Meparidze. 

The No. 41 doubles pair of Nick Horton and Ian Dempster was a key team to watch, surviving and advancing to the final round of the tournament. This was the duo’s first time playing in a tournament together so far but this had no effect on their performance, blowing past both Elon’s Robert Lindgren and Mario Paccini and Gardner-Webb’s Benjamin Kaszas and Maximilian Scholl winning with straight sets. 

“When you’ve worked together for two years you get to know each other pretty well … some players you have a better connection but me and Ian have no problem connecting,” Horton said. “Ian is one of the best players to ever play, so if anything it’s a privilege to be able to play with him.”

The pair continued to dominate in the doubles round of 16, beating USC in the tough match resulting in a third set 1-0 (10-4) tie-breaker, and then taking the quarter-finals match over Presbyterian’s Ben Kelley and Joel Roberts. The semifinals resulted in Dempster and Horton conquering the first set 6-0 against senior Vikram Hundal and senior Jordi Masslle-Ferrer of UNC-Charlotte. The Wolfpack fell in the second set, but gained back control and the win of the match in the third set. 

The duo finished strong, taking the entire doubles tournament and winning the final round against senior Romain Bogaerts and junior Maksim Kan of Wake Forest 6-1, 7-6 (2). This is the third consecutive year that the Wolfpack has made it to the final round of the ITA Carolina Regional doubles tournament, and the second year that State has won with Dempster as a part of the doubles team. With this win the duo has earned a bid to the 2015 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships which will be held in Flushing, NY November 12-15.

Aside from the doubles tournament, the Wolfpack also gained wins in the singles tournament. Both Horton and Norenius took their first two matches with straight sets. Norenius fell in the third round to sophomore Thomas Mayronne of USC while Horton fell in the round of 16 to Gabriel Friedrich of USC. Horton dominated the first set 6-2, but fell behind in the second set which Friedrich claimed and then fought hard to gain back control in the third set, but his run in the singles tournament ended with Friedrich winning the final set with 6-2.  Meparidze also grabbed a win against senior Anthony Delcore of Wake Forest.

 Along with the ITA Carolina Regional, the team has played in the Cary ATP Challenger, where Horton made it to the first match of the qualifying singles round, and the Duke Bonk Invitational, where Norenius  claimed third place in the singles tournament. Since the fall season is filled with tournaments, this is the time for the Wolfpack to get a glimpse of how the other teams have improved since last year and their level of skill.

“These types of tournaments help you know what to expect in the season and they allow you to see the freshman coming in and all the guys you’ve never seen before play,” Horton said.  “You figure out what exactly to expect, the level of tennis  the new guys have, and how particular guys play because there’s a good chance the guys that played in this tournament will play in the future in the season.”

 The men’s tennis team can next be seen at home when they host the NC State Invitational Oct. 23–Oct. 25.