RALEIGH With a home win over Miami, NC State improves to 3-0 in the ACC play, their best start under head coach Kyle Spencer.
The Wolfpack (9-4, 3-0) got there thanks to a gritty 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
The three and a half hour marathon was punctuated by a 6-4, 6-4 win by Fons Van Sambeek in match No. 5.
The 3-0 start is the best in league play since head coach Kyle Spencer took over in 2018.
“Happy to be 3-0 in the ACC,” Spencer said. “Good team win, I thought we were super strong in the doubles, so I was really happy on that front. We got it done, so super pleased for the guys.”
Quick reaction from HC Kyle Spencer following the 4-2 win over Miami. pic.twitter.com/dIB0u9FG1r
— NC State Men’s Tennis 🐺🎾 (@PackMensTennis) March 11, 2023
Doubles (NC State 1, Miami 0)
Rafa Izquierdo Luque and Joe Wayand, ranked No. 29 in the ITA, proved worthy of their ranking, defeating Antonio Prat and Dan Martin 6-3 to start off doubles.
Luca Staeheli and Robin Catry, ranked No. 55, gave NC State the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Juan Martin Jalif and Martin Del Puerto.
Singles (NC State 3, Miami 2)
NC State got off to a good start thanks to the duo of Staeheli and Catry, who won their singles’ matches after the Canes struck first. In the matchup of No. 44 Dan Martin and No. 77 Rafa Izquierdo Luque, Martin won in two sets.
Staeheli and Catry, though, won back-to-back games to swing the momentum.
“Luca and Robin got us closer to the finish line,” Spencer said.
Carry was strong from the start, never trailing, defeating Leonard Bierbaum 6-3, 6-2. Staeheli quickly followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 76 Martin Katz.
The most exciting match of the night took place on center court between Braden Shick and Antonio Pratt. Shick won the first set 6-3, dropped the second, 7-6 and battled to the end before falling, 7-3 in the tie breaker.
That pulled Miami within one, 3-2, with the fate of the match riding on Fons Van Sambeek and Joe Wayand.
“I felt really confident with Fons and Joe Wayand out there,” Spencer said.
The Hurricanes pulled to within one, 5-4, 4-3, in each of those matches, and Franco Aubone managed to tie the match at four with Wayand. Van Sambeek, however, made sure it didn’t matter by defeating Juan Martin Jalif, 6-4 in the second set.
Singles
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