Men's tennis completes another double header sweep

The No. 58 N.C. State Wolfpack men's tennis team picked up a pair of quality wins Sunday in their third home double header of the season, remaining undefeated at home.

The Pack's first match of the day was in the morning against No. 45 Cornell.  State took the initiative, winning two of three doubles matches to take the doubles point.

After dropping the first match on court No. 2, Wolfpack senior Julian Sullivan and sophomore Sean Weber answered back with an 8-4 match victory at the No. 1 doubles position.  Senior Jaime Pulgar and freshman Robbie Mudge finished closely behind on the third court by a final score of 8-3, giving the Wolfpack an early 1-0 lead over the Big Red.

Singles saw more competition than doubles, but the Pack was able to put it away early, winning three of the first four matches.

Mudge was the first off court, winning in swift fashion 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 3 position.  Senior Jaime Pulgar wasn't far behind, winning a three setter 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on the No. 1 court, giving State a 3-0 lead.  However, Cornell fought back, claiming the No. 2 court with a four-set victory over Dominic Hodgson.

State freshman Austin Powell, who is ranked No. 100 in the country, clinched the match for the Wolfpack, winning by the final count of 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.  State lost its final two matches on court five and six, giving the Pack a 4-3 win.  It was the team's second win over a ranked team this season.

The Wolfpack carried their momentum into the afternoon as they took on Charlotte.  As they did in the morning, the Pack took the doubles point by a 2-1 count.

Senior Jaime Pulgar and freshman Robbie Mudge paved the way for the Pack, winning with ease by an 8-2 score on the No. 2 court and improving their record as a doubles team to 4-0.  Senior Julian Sullivan and sophomore Sean Weber finished right behind them on the No. 1 court in a quick 8-4 match.  The Pack dropped the third doubles match, but the damage had already been done, giving State a 1-0 lead going into singles.

Freshman Beck Bond was the first Wolfpacker off the court after picking up his first victory of the day on the No. 3 court, 6-4, 6-1.  Sullivan continued the Pack's dominance at the No. 4 position, winning 6-3, 6-2 to give State a comfortable 3-0 lead.  Shortly afterwards, Mudge had the match clincher, winning 6-4, 6-2 to give State their seventh win of the season.

The Pack pulled out the remaining three matches as well.  No. 1 singles player Pulgar picked up a quick first set victory at 6-1, but showed signs of fatigue in the second set, forcing the match into a third set tiebreaker after going to 6-6.  Pulgar showed resilience in the tiebreaker, managing to win 10-5 over Charlotte's Jack Williams.

"Literally, I can't walk right now," said an exhausted Pulgar.  "It feels good, because [Williams] just played two matches and he was cramping.  I actually played four and I was good enough physically to keep going.  That just means the other hard work I put in for conditioning and fitness is paying off."

Sophomore Ivan Sanchez Gomez won his court five match 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-2) and junior Rafael Paez completed the sweep for the Wolfpack, winning 6-2, 6-2 for the 7-0 match victory.

The freshman trio of Mudge, Powell, and Bond improved their overall singles record to 14-0 on the season, proving to be a valuable asset to the team thus far.

"Our young guys to a great job at the top of the lineup," said head coach Jon Choboy.  "They're good players, obviously, and they're playing pretty high up in the lineup for freshman.  They're doing a good job handling that.  

"They've been a significant part of our start this year, and if we get the rest of the guys playing up to par, I think we're going to be a really good team."

Mudge, who picked up four match victories on the day, seemed satisfied with his performance, along with his young teammates.

"It feels good, you know?  You always try to take it one match at a time to try and do your part and get the win," said Mudge.  "This is why we train every day."

The Pack resumes action this Saturday at noon when they take on No. 69 South Carolina at home.