March 13, 2016
Raleigh, N.C. – Carlos Benito, Nathan Rakitt, Daniel Yun and Christopher Eubanks completed undefeated weekends with singles wins Sunday, as the 42nd-ranked Yellow Jackets defeated No. 27 NC State, 5-2, in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
Off to its best conference start since 2011, Tech (10-4, 3-1 ACC) won its third consecutive road contest in dominant fashion, winning the doubles point and four of the first five singles matches to finish. The Yellow Jackets return home to face Clemson on Friday at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex. The Wolfpack fell to 12-8 overall, 1-2 in the ACC.
The Jackets came from behind to secure their first point, with Casey and Michael Kay scratching first in a tiebreaker, 7-6 over Nick Horton and Shoti Meparidze, on court 2. Christopher Eubanks and Benito clinched it with a 6-2 win at No. 1 over Michael Ogden and Ivan Saviljic.
Thomas Weigel tied the match for the NC State with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Andrew Li on court 3 in singles, and the Wolfpack won first sets on three courts. Benito countered with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Nick Horton, ranked 58th in the nation, on court 2 to restore the lead to Tech at 2-1. Nathan Rakitt scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Igor Saveljic on court 6, and Yun rallied from a first-set loss and got the clinching point for the Jackets on court 5, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over Meparidze.
Eubanks, ranked 15th in the nation, rallied from a first-set loss to defeat No. 73 Simon Norenius, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, on court 1 to make it 5-1 in favor of Tech. Cole Fiegel dropped a three-set decision on court 4 to Ivan Saveljic in the final match to finish.
HEAD COACH Kenny Thorne SAYS – ”The Kays did a great job in doubles to pull out a tiebreaker for us to get the doubles point. They were down a mini break, but kept aggressive and fought back. They are a good team, so it was nice for them to get the win. Banks and Beni played another solid match together. Singles was a battle. We got down the first set on three courts, but won the first on our other three courts. Daniel had another solid day. He is tough mentally and comes after you. Nathan did a great job finishing his match in two sets after being down a break in the second. Banks and Beni were tough once again. Our guys have been fighting well on the road and that is a must with our schedule this year. We are really looking forward to getting home this Friday against Clemson.”
NOTABLE – Yun, a sophomore who had never played in an ACC dual match until last weekend, is now 4-for-4 with his victory Sunday and improved to 5-1 overall this spring … Eubanks is 11-1 in Tech’s dual matches this spring … Benito has won six of his last seven matches to improve to 8-6 … Rakitt, who struggled in the fall and early this spring, is 5-0 playing in the sixth position and 6-2 this spring … Tech won the doubles point for 11th time in 14 matches … Benito and Eubanks won their third straight match since moving to the top spot, and are 9-1 together this spring … The Kay brothers, ranked No. 65, earned their first win since Jan. 23, having lost four matches and getting no decisions in six.
#42 Georgia Tech 5, #27 NC State 2
March 13, 2016 at Raleigh, N.C. (J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #15 Christopher Eubanks (GT) def. #73 Simon Norenius (ST) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Carlos Benito (GT) def. #58 Nick Horton (ST) 6-4, 6-4
3. Thomas Weigel (ST) def. Andrew Li (GT) 6-3, 7-5
4. Ivan Saveljic (ST) def. Cole Fiegel (GT) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
5. Daniel Yun (GT) def. Shoti Meparidze (ST) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
6. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Igor Saveljic (ST) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Christopher Eubanks/Carlos Benito (GT) def. Michael Ogden/Ivan Saveljic (ST) 6-2
2. #65 Casey Kay/Michael Kay (GT) def. Nick Horton/Shoti Meparidze (ST) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Thomas Weigel/Simon Norenius (ST) def. Andrew Li/Nathan Rakitt (GT) 6-2
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 10-4, 3-1 ACC; National ranking #42
NC State 12-8, 1-2 ACC; National ranking #27
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,2,6,5,1,4)
