April 6, 2007
Atlanta – The Georgia Tech men’s tennis team battled with the 20th-ranked Wolfpack, but came up short, falling 4-3 to NC State Friday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. With the loss, the Jackets slip to 5-13 overall and 2-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Tech tandem George Gvelesiani and Zach Rath quickly dispatched NC State’s Christian Welte and David Rozek, 8-3, in the third doubles spot to earn the Jackets’ first win of the day. State’s Nick Cavaday and William Noblitt, ranked 21st in the country, answered by defeating Luke Rassow-Kantor and Eric Molnar, 9-7, in the first doubles spot. Jose Muguruza and Scott Blackmon, playing No. 2 doubles, suffered the same fate, losing, 7-9, and giving the Wolfpack a 1-0 lead at the break.
In singles play, Tech’s Muguruza downed No. 61 Cavaday, 7-5, 6-3, in the top singles spot, tying the match at 1-1. Shortly after, Rassow-Kantor dropped his No. 4 singles match to Jay Weinacker in straight sets, giving the Pack their second lead of the day.
Blackmon, playing in the third singles spot, downed James McGee, who he faced in doubles, 6-4, 6-3. Eric Molnar followed with a three-set loss to Noblitt.
After dropping the first set, 1-6, senior Zach Rath stormed back to take the second and third sets from Welte and win the No. 5 singles match, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6.
With the match tied a three a piece, Tech’s hopes rested on the Austin Roebuck’s young shoulders. The freshman, who hasn’t played since Tech’s March 4 win over No. 10 Florida State, dropped his first set, 1-6, but held a 6-5 lead in the second set. State’s Andre Iriarte forced a tiebreak and defeated Roebuck in the third to finish off the match and steal the 4-3 win for the Wolfpack.
The Yellow Jackets will face a tight turnaround as they prepare to host No. 11 Wake Forest Saturday at 2 p.m. in their last home match of the season. Live stats for Saturday’s match with the Demon Deacons are available at Georgia Tech’s athletic website, www.ramblinwreck.com.
Admission to all Georgia Tech home tennis matches is free.
Tennis Match ResultsNC State vs Georgia Tech4/6/2007 at Georgia Tech#20 NC State 4, #42 Georgia Tech 3
Singles competition: 1. Jose Muguruza (GT) def. Nick Cavaday (NCSU) 7-5, 6-3 2. William Noblitt (NCSU) def. Eric Molnar (GT) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 3. Scott Blackmon (GT) def. James McGee (NCSU) 6-4, 6-3 4. Jay Weinacker (NCSU) def. Luke Rassow-Kantor (GT) 6-1, 6-2 5. Zach Rath (GT) def. Christian Welte (NCSU) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 6. Andre Iriarte (NCSU) def. Austin Roebuck (GT) 6-1, 7-6
Doubles competition: 1. Nick Cavaday/William Noblitt (NCSU) def. Luke Rassow-Kantor/Eric Molnar (GT) 9-7 2. James McGee/Jay Weinacker (NCSU) def. Jose Muguruza/Scott Blackmon (GT) 9-7 3. George Gvelesiani/Zach Rath (GT) def. Christian Welte/David Rozek (NCSU) 8-3
Match Notes: NC State 19-6, 4-4 ACC; National ranking #20 Georgia Tech 5-13, 2-6 ACC; National ranking #42 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,3,2,5,6)
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