March 30, 2014
Raleigh, N.C. – Nathan Rakitt rallied for a three-set victory on court 2 singles, but NC State cruised past Georgia Tech, 6-1, in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis match Sunday afternoon at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
Tech (7-9, 1-5 ACC) lost for the eighth time in its last nine matches, unable to rebound after losing a heart-breaking 403 match at Wake Forest Saturday. The 43rd-ranked Wolfpack (12-7, 1-5) earned their first conference win of the spring after dropping a close 4-3 decision at Clemson Saturday.
Rakitt, a sophomore from Marietta, Ga., scored Tech’s only point after rallying from a first-set loss to defeat the Wolfpack’s Robbie Mudge, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. He improved to 9-7 in dual matches this spring and won both of his matches this weekend.
The same was not true, however, for the rest of the Yellow Jackets, who dropped the doubles point for the third straight match when Rakitt and Fiegel lost, 8-3, on court 2, and Will Showers and Cole Fiegel lost, 8-1, on court 3. Tech’s 23rd-ranked team of Eduardo Segura and Carlos Benito lost in a tiebreaker to the `Pack’s 50th-ranked duo of Mudge and Ian Dempster.
The Wolfpack wrapped up the match with straight-set singles wins on courts 1, 4 and 3. Austin Powell, ranked 47th nationally, struck first by defeating Tech’s Segura, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 1. Simon Norenius followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Benito at No. 4, and Thomas Weigel scored the clinching point with a 7-6, 7-5 win over Fiegel.
Showers and Edwards each lost in straight sets at No. 5 and 6.
Tech returns to action at home next weekend against No. 54 Virginia Tech and No. 4 Virginia at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
#43 NC State 6, #74 Georgia Tech 1Mar 30, 2014 at Raleigh, N.C. (J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center)
Singles competition 1. #47 Austin Powell (NCSU) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-4, 6-1 2. Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. Robbie Mudge (NCSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 3. Thomas Weigel (NCSU) def. Cole Fiegel (GT) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 4. Simon Norenius (NCSU) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-3, 6-2 5. Nick Horton (NCSU) def. Will Showers (GT) 6-1, 6-1 6. Parker McGuiness (NCSU) def. Colin Edwards (GT) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition 1. #50 Ian Dempster/Robbie Mudge (NCSU) def. #23 Eduardo Segura/Carlos Benito (GT) 8-7 (7-1) 2. #36 Sean Weber/Nick Horton (NCSU) def. Nathan Rakitt/Cole Fiegel (GT) 8-3 3. Thomas Weigel/Austin Powell (NCSU) def. Will Showers/Colin Edwards (GT) 8-1
Match Notes Georgia Tech 7-9, 1-5 ACC; National ranking #74 NC State 12-7, 1-5 ACC; National ranking #43 Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,3,5,2,6) Match moved indoors to the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. T-3:25 A-128
