The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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74 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BATTLING TO THE TOP NC State Has Conquered A Tough Slate So Far And Looks To Keep Rising BY RYAN TICE en's tennis head coach Jon Choboy estimates that he has eight players on the roster ca‑ pable of being sent out to play on one of six singles courts during dual matches. He also boasts an array of doubles teams capable of filling out the lineup, and those are exactly the type of problems a top‑25 squad normally has. The result has been a lineup that might seem like it is constantly shuffling, but it is actually a direct result of the great com‑ petition he sees every day on the practice courts. "We have a pretty deep team," the coach admitted. "Guys understand that if they're performing well in practice — even if they weren't in the previous week's match — we'll make a change and they'll jump in the lineup. "At the beginning of the season, we had four players ranked in singles and two dou‑ bles teams ranked. That's what the top‑10 teams have. We know we're capable of be‑ ing in that range." The other byproduct of having such a deep and talented team — buoyed by a 9‑2 record against a tough non‑conference schedule — is the respect the team has earned on a national scale. The Pack was No. 25 in the coaches' poll and No. 24 in the ITA rankings heading into the final week of February. Three singles players — junior Austin Powell at No. 45, classmate Robbie Mudge at No. 91 and sophomore Thomas Weigel at No. 122 — were ranked nationally. Ad‑ ditionally, a pair of doubles teams appeared in the rankings — senior Sean Weber and freshman Nick Horton at No. 32 and Mudge and rookie Ian Dempster at No. 42. "We knew we had a good team, and so when we look at how to schedule this year — and we did the same thing last year — we put together a very challenging one," the coach said. "We feel that better pre‑ pares us for the ACC season. We didn't want to have our team playing against teams that we would beat handily; what we did was jump into ACC‑level competition from the first match. "I think they've responded very well, and the record helps indicate that. Even ■ PREVIEW MEN'S TENNIS Junior Austin Powell, who ascended to No. 45 in the singles rankings during February, and the Wolfpack had defeated four teams that were ranked among the nation's top 50 heading into March. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP Noting The Pack • State's four upperclassmen — Sean Weber, Aus- tin Powell, Robbie Mudge and Beck Bond — had a combined singles record of 62-24 through Feb. 24, including 24-9 in duals. • The team had an impressive record of 14-7 in the top two singles spots. Not surprisingly, it was even better as you moved further down the lineup — the Pack was 17-5 this year at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. 74,76.Men's Tennis.indd 74 2/25/14 2:42 PM