University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#25 NC State
Vols Drop Thriller to NC State, 4-3
March 09, 2018 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 22 Tennessee came up on the losing end of a dramatic match on Friday, dropping a 4-3 decision to No. 25 NC State at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
The Vols (11-4) and Wolfpack (10-1) battled to a 3-3 tie, but NC State's Tadas Babelis was able to clinch the victory by overcoming Adam Walton in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Tennessee claimed a hard-fought point in the doubles matches, as the 73rd ranked pair of Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero defeated No. 45 Ivan and Igor Saveljic, 6-3, before Timo Stodder and Adam Walton took down NC State's Michael Ogden and Georgiy Malyshev in a tiebreaker, 7-4.
After the teams split wins on Courts No. 1 and 2, NC State's Robert Turzak defeated Nicaise Muamba 7-5, 6-1 on Court 6 to tie the match at 2-2 and set up a best of three finish. Scott Jones closed out his match on Court 5 with a 7-6 (4), 6-0 victory while Luis Valero fell to Georgiy Malyshev, 7-6 (3), 6-4, leaving a decisive third set on Court 3 between Walton and Babelis.
The two competed to a 4-4 lock in the third set with each point becoming more exciting than the last. In the end, however, Babelis took the final two games and gave NC State the road win.
UP NEXT: Tennessee plays a double header at home on Sunday. The Vols will take on LSU for an SEC match at 1 p.m. before facing Austin Peay at 4:30 p.m.
#25 NC State 4, #22 Tennessee 3
Singles
1. #20 Timo Stodder (UT) def. #22 Alexis Galarneau (ST) 6-3, 6-4
2. Igor Saveljic (ST) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-2, 7-5
3. Tadas Babelis (ST) def. Adam Walton (UT) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
4. Georgiy Malyshev (ST) def. Luis Valero (UT) 7-6 (3), 6-4
5. Scott Jones (UT) def. Ivan Saveljic (ST) 7-6 (4), 6-0
6. Robert Turzak (ST) def. Nicaise Muamba (UT) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
1. #73 Preston Touliatos/Luis Valero (UT) def. #45 Ivan Saveljic/Igor Saveljic (ST) 6-3
2. Nicaise Muamba/Andrew Rogers (UT) vs. Alexis Galarneau/Tadas Babelis (ST) 6-6 (0-4), unfinished
3. Timo Stodder/Adam Walton (UT) def. Michael Ogden/Georgiy Malyshev (ST) 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,2,6,5,4,3)
Players Mentioned
