The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1087622
70 ■ THE WOLFPACKER dedicated himself to continuing to improve. He was All-ACC as a freshman, and I think the sky's the limit. It's all about him and his discipline to come out every day and try to better himself as a player and also as a student. That is his daily goal." However, Saveljic made big improve- ments over the summer and fall and was 5-1 at No. 2 singles to start this spring. Spencer called him "the one big bright spot from the fall." Spencer enjoys good depth in his six- player lineup. Senior Georgiy Malyshev has been the one constant joining Galar- neau, Babelis, Barkai and Saveljic, while four other players have had a chance to get into the mix. "The interesting part is I really feel like that anyone in our lineup can make these great breakthroughs," Spencer said. The second-year coach joked that under- promising and over-delivering is a nice phi- losophy, and he did that in his first season. However, he believes the sky is the limit with this group. "This group I really feel like has an eager- ness to be special this year," he added. ■ ■ Key Matches • Vs. Wake Forest, March 20 — The Demon Deacons were the nation's No. 2 team as of Feb. 26 and will be coming to Raleigh. The Pack nearly stunned the Deacons on the road last season when WFU was ranked No. 1 nationally. • At North Carolina, April 3 — The Heels were ranked No. 6 as of Feb. 26, third-best in the ACC behind Wake and No. 4 Virginia. NC State will travel to Chapel Hill this year to face its archrival. • ACC Championships at Cary, N.C., April 17-21 — The loaded ACC Tournament features five teams in the top 25. In addition to Wake Forest, Virginia and UNC, Notre Dame (No. 13), Florida State (No. 21) and Miami (No. 29) are ranked ahead of the Wolfpack. Three Players To Watch Sophomore Tadas Babelis Babelis won Lithuanian national titles at 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U prior to arriving at NC State. In his rookie campaign last year, he tied for the team-high with 15 dual singles wins, while compet- ing at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, and was named third-team All-ACC. Junior Alexis Galarneau Galarneau ended last season ranked No. 52 na- tionally in singles after beating 10 ranked players during the 2017-18 campaign. He then had a stellar summer that included team- ing up with fellow Canadian and UNC player Benja- min Sigouin to win the ITF Futures Doubles Crown in Calgary for Galarneau's first professional title. Senior Igor Saveljic He entered this season with 52 career singles vic- tories, and his play in the fall earned him a promo- tion to No. 2 singles in the Wolfpack lineup. Saveljic also teams with his twin brother, Ivan, to form a consistent doubles tandem. Noting The Pack • NC State has identical twins in seniors Igor and Ivan Saveljic. For some new coaches, it may take time to sepa- rate the two. For NC State's Kyle Spencer, he had some experience with it. He grew up with the Bryan brothers, professional tennis players Mike and Bob Bryan, who have teamed up for 16 grand slam doubles wins. At his previous stop of SMU, where he was an assistant coach, he coached twins. "I am a quick study on who is who, and I figured that out very quickly," Spencer said. "The thing I tell people about twins is they are not the same person. They don't have the same mannerisms. They don't do things the same. They don't think necessarily all the time the same, and they don't look the same. "Those small details you figure out quickly. It didn't take me long in distinguishing who is who." • Junior Alexis Galarneau, senior Georgiy Malyshev and fifth-year senior Michael Ogden were chosen as captains for this year's team. "Alexis, Georgiy and Michael were selected by the team and supported by the coaching staff to help maintain the core values of our tennis program on a daily basis," Spencer said. "Each of the three captains brings their own distinct leadership traits to our program each day." Sophomore Tadas Babelis was 6-3 in dual singles play through Feb. 26, splitting time between the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. PHOTO BY CHRIS BAIRD/COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS