No. 16 NC State outlasts Hokies, 4-3

Tech battled top-25 foe with points in doubles and from Harper, Donato

March 18, 2018

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BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech men’s tennis team battled 16th-ranked NC State on Sunday afternoon with the deciding point coming down to the final match, but the Wolfpack held on to win it 4-3 at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

Tech (9-5, 0-4 ACC) got out to the lead, winning the doubles point, defeating a pair of ranked opponents. NC State won the match at three, but on court one, Henrik Korsgaard and Alex Ribeiro knocked off 38th-ranked Alexis Galarneau and Michael Ogden 6-3.

The point came down to court two where Carlo Donato and Mitch Harper paired up to knock off 45th-ranked Igor and Ivan Saveljic in a tiebreak 7-6(3).

NC State (11-3, 1-2 ACC) took the lead after picking up wins on courts six and five, but the Hokies tied it up with a win at one. Harper, ranked 45th, claimed the straight set win over 22nd-ranked Galarneau, defeating the Wolfpack player 6-4, 6-4.

The Wolfpack again pulled ahead, winning the match at three as Tadas Babelis and Ribeiro went to three sets. Ribeiro won the opening set 6-3, but Babelis rallied to secure the point 6-3, 6-4.

Donato knotted the match at 3-3 on court four when he and Georgiy Malyshev battled it out. Falling behind in the opening set 1-5, Donato rallied to win five straight games as the two were tied at 6-6 before Donato secured it in the tiebreak 7-6(3). Malyshev controlled the second set to win it 6-0, but Donato responded in kind in the third to roll to the 6-0 win.

The deciding match came down to court two with Jason Kros and Igor Saveliic going head-to-head. In the opening set, Saveljic won it in a tiebreak 7-6(3), but Kros responded for a 6-4 win in the second. The final set was tied at 4-4 before the Wolfpack player broke to go up 5-4. He held on serve to win it 6-4.

Virginia Tech will return to the court Friday, March 23 in a 3 p.m. match at Boston College.

Singles
1. #45 Mitch Harper (VT) def. #22 Alexis Galarneau (NCSt) 6-4, 6-4
2. Igor Saveljic (NCSt) def. Jason Kros (VT) 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4
3. Tadas Babelis (NCSt) def. Alex Ribeiro (VT) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Carlo Donato (VT) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCSt) 7-6(3), 0-6, 6-0
5. Ivan Saveljic (NCSt) def. Feliksas Sakalauskas (VT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Robert Turzak (NCSt) def. Freddy Mesmer (VT) 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6,5,1,3,4,2

Doubles
1. Henrik Korsgaard/Ribeiro (VT) def. #38 Galarneau/Michael Ogden 6-3
2. Donato/Harper (VT) def. #45 Saveljic/Saveljic (NCSt) 7-6(3)
3. Babelis/Malyshev (NCSt) def. Kros/Mesmer (VT) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2

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