No. 23 Virginia Falls To No. 17 NC State In ITA Kickoff Finals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 23 Virginia men’s tennis team (3-2) dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 17 NC State (6-0) on Sunday (Jan. 26) in the finals of the ITA Kickoff weekend regional played at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
 
By virtue of the win, the Wolfpack advance to the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 14-17) in Madison, Wisc.

“Congrats to NC State,” said Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso. “They deserve the win. I thought we had opportunities across the board in singles, but we just came up a little short on certain courts. As I said at the start of the season, this team will get better as the season progresses. I have total faith in this team.”

The Wolfpack grabbed the doubles point with wins on courts two and three to take the 1-0 lead into singles. 

With NC State holding to a 2-0 lead in the overall dual score following a win at line three, freshman Christian Alshon (Boca Raton, Fla.) picked up a 6-4, 6-0 win on court five over Robert Turzak to get the Cavaliers on the board. NC State would then clinch the win with wins at line six and one, respectively.

Virginia will return to action on Friday, Jan. 31, when the Cavaliers host Boston College in a 5 p.m. match at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

MATCH NOTES

• Ryan Goetz led 3-1 in the third set at line two and William Woodall led 5-3 in the second set when the match was clinched. 
• Christian Alshon is 4-0 in singles this spring for the Cavaliers. 

BOX SCORE
Singles
1. Alexis Galarneau (NCSU) def. Carl Soderlund (VA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
2. #115 Ryan Goetz (VA) vs. Tadas Babelis (NCSU) 6-3, 4-6, 3-1, unfinished
3. Yannai Barkai (NCSU) def. #68 Gianni Ross (VA) 6-4, 6-1
4. William Woodall (VA) vs. Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NCSU) 7-6 (7-3), 5-3, unfinished 
5. Christian Alshon (VA) def. Robert Turzak (NCSU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Robin Catry (NCSU) def. Ammar Alhaqbani (VA) 7-5, 6-2 

Doubles
1. Carl Soderlund/Matthew Lord (VA) vs. #32 Tadas Babelis/Yannai Barkai (NCSU) 3-5, unfinished 
2. Alexis Galarneau/Robert Turzak (NCSU) def. #53 Gianni Ross/William Woodall (VA) 6-2
3. Rafa Izquierdo Luque/Collin Shick (NCSU) def. Christian Alshon/Ryan Goetz (VA) 6-1 

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,5,6,1)
T-2:34     A-276