ORLANDO, FLA. – In his first trip to the NCAA tournament singles championship, Rafa Izquierdo Luque faced one of the top freshmen in the nation.
Stanford’s Nishesh Basavareddy, ranked No. 15 in the last ITA rankings, defeated the NC State senior in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
Izquierdo Luque ends his senior career with an overall record of 13-15, playing most of the season at the No. 1 singles spot.
He finishes his Pack career with an overall record of 39-42 in singles play. Izquierdo Luque came into the tournament ranked No. 57 in the most recent ITA rankings.
In the opening set, Izquierdo Luque took a 3-2 lead over Basavareddy. Unfortunately for Izquierdo Luque, Basavareddy took the momentum, ending the first set on a 4-0 run.
In the second set, Basavareddy jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Izquierdo Luque showed a lot of fight, battling back to tie the set at three. The Santiago de Compostella, Spain native once again rallied, tying the set at five. That would be the final push from Izquierdo Luque as Basavereddy closed out the set with a 7-5 win.
Izquierdo Luque jumped into the top 100 ITA rankings on February 21 at No. 75 and remained in the top 100 the remainder of the regular season. His highest position of the year was No. 52 on March 21.
After his win over No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri of Texas on March 14, Izquierdo Luque was named ACC Player of the Week. This season Izquierdo Luque played 17 matches at No. 1 in 2022-23, winning six matches, winning two over top 50 opponents. Izquierdo Luque became the ninth player in program history to advance to the NCAA singles championship and first since 2021.
Up next: Izquierdo Luque will pair with Joe Wayand on Tuesday to take on Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas of Duke in the first round of the double championship.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at NC State University Athletics…