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CARY, N.C. – Pedro Graber missed the entire 2010-11 tennis season due to a wrist injury and has struggled at times during the current season. Thursday evening Graber pulled out a come-from-behind, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5, win at No. 3 over Evan Sanchez Gomez to give the 37th-ranked and sixth-seeded Hokies a 4-3 win over 11th seed and No. 55 NC State. Graber’s match lasted three hours and 27 minutes. Tech improved to 14-10 and advances to the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m., against third seed and No. 13 Duke. NC State fell to 10-14 with the loss.

Graber (Santiago, Chile) dropped the first set against Gomez, 6-2, but pulled out the second set, 7-6 (1). In the deciding set, Gomez was two points from winning the match serving at 5-4, 30-30, before Graber fought back to break serve. The Tech senior then held and broke Gomez again to capture the deciding set, 7-5.

After NC State won the doubles point, Tech evened the match as Will Beck (Sr., Potomac, Md.) defeated Rafael Paez, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4. The Wolfpack regained the lead as Patrick Daciek (Jr., Severna Park, Md.) lost the No. 2 match, 6-1, 6-4, to Dominic Hodgson only to see Tech even things up once again with Lucas Oliveira’s (So., Sao Paulo, Brazil) 6-4, 6-3, victory at No. 5 over Julian Sullivan. Luka Somen (Jr., Karlovac, Croatia), ranked No. 60 nationally, gave the Hokies their first lead of the day with a, 6-4, 6-4, win at No. 1 over No. 110 Jaime Pulgar. NC State tied the match at 3-3 as Francesc Aulina Fajula (Fr., Barcelona, Spain) lost his No. 6 match, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, against Dave Thomson to set up Graber’s heroics.

In doubles, Tech took the No. 1 match as Beck/Graber, ranked No. 66, defeated Hodgson/Rob Lowe, 8-1, but the Wolfpack tied the competition with a win at No. 3 as Daciek/Tocci fell, 8-3, to David Chermak/Sullivan. NC State clinched the doubles point as Oliveira/Somen lost, 8-3, in the No. 2 match against Pulgar/Dave Thomson.

(6) #37 Virginia Tech 4, (11) #55 North Carolina State 3

Singles

1. #60 Luka Somen (VT) def. #110 Jaime Pulgar (NCSU) 6-4, 6-4

2. Dominic Hodgson (NCSU) def. Patrick Daciek (VT) 6-1, 6-4

3. Pedro Graber (VT) def. Ivan Sanchez Gomez (NCSU) 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5

4. Will Beck (VT) def. Rafael Paez (NCSU) 6-2, 6-4

5. Lucas Oliveira (VT) def. Julian Sullivan (NCSU) 6-4, 6-3

6. Dave Thomson (NCSU) def. Francesc Aulina Fajula (VT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Order of finish: 4, 2, 5, 1, 6, 3*

Doubles

1. #66 Graber/Beck (VT) def. Hodgson/Rob Lowe (NCSU) 8-1

2. Pulgar/D. Thomson (NCSU) def. Oliveira/Somen (VT) 8-3

3. David Chermak/Sullivan (NCSU) def. Daciek/Tocci (VT) 8-3

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2*

*clinching point

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