April 24, 2014
Cary, N.C. – NC State captured the doubles point and pulled out straight-set wins at No. 1 and 3 singles, shutting out Georgia Tech, 4-0, in opening round action at the ACC Men’s Tennis Championships Thursday afternoon.
The win for the 26th-ranked and No. 6-seeded Wolfpack (17-8) completed a first round in which all the higher seeds advanced to Friday’s quarter-finals. Tech (7-15) lost its ninth consecutive match. In other action, No. 8 Florida State shut out No. 9 Miami, 4-0, No. 5 Clemson swept No. 12 Boston College by the same score, and No. 7 Virginia Tech fought off No. 10 Wake Forest, 4-2.
With the Yellow Jackets competing with just five players, NC State took the doubles point when 22nd-ranked Ian Dempster and Robbie Mudge outlasted Tech’s 65th-ranked team of Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura, 8-6, at the No. 1 position.
“Our goal coming in was to get these guys in a position where they can win. In order to do that, they had to fight for every single point, and I thought that we did that in doubles,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “We got down a couple of breaks at No. 1, but the fight didn’t go away. We got one break back and got up a break at No. 2, and I thought we had a chance, but NC State served a great game to close out the match at No. 1. That put us behind 2-0, and we’re short on players, but there was no feeling sorry for ourselves.”
Leading 2-0 entering singles play, Robbie Mudge defeated Nathan Rakitt, 7-5, 6-3, and the Wolfpack clinched the match when Nick Horton closed out Segura, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3. Benito had split the first two sets with 59th-ranked Austin Powell at No. 2, and Cole Fiegel was engaged in a third set with Simon Norenius when the match ended.
“I was proud of our two freshmen, who went down a set and fought back to even their matches,” said Thorne. “It has been a tough season all the way around, but there never has been a lack of belief or fight.”
#26 NC State 4, #74 Georgia Tech 0April 24, 2014 - ACC Tournament First RoundCary (N.C.) Tennis Center
Singles competition 1. Robbie Mudge (ST) def. #104 Nathan Rakitt (GT) 7-5, 6-3 2. #59 Austin Powell (ST) vs. Carlos Benito (GT) 2-6, 6-3, unfinished 3. Nick Horton (ST) def. Eduardo Segura (GT) 6-4, 6-2 4. Simon Norenius (ST) vs. Cole Fiegel (GT) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished 6. Ian Dempster (ST) def. No player (GT), by default
Doubles competition 1. #22 Ian Dempster/Robbie Mudge (ST) def. #65 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-6 2. Cole Fiegel/Nathan Rakitt (GT) def. #60 Sean Weber/Nick Horton (ST) 6-5 3. Austin Powell/Simon Norenius (ST) def. No player/No player (GT), by default
Match Notes: Georgia Tech 7-15; National ranking #74 NC State 17-8; National ranking #26 Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,1,3)
