The Wolfpacker

JANUARY 2016 ■ 85 holding the rest of the guys accountable to doing the same thing. "That's a hard thing to do as a young per- son, to hold your teammates accountable." Horton, who went 22-17 in singles last year, figures to join Weigel and senior Si- mon Norenius at the top of State's singles lineup. Norenius went 22-12 in singles a year ago and finished the season ranked No. 116 in the ITA ratings. The rest of the lineup will likely be de- termined in the spring. Choboy has high expectations for the Saveljic twins and added that, "there is a really good chance that both of those players are going to play immediately as freshmen." Having played together their entire lives, the Saveljics could be a prime candidate for a doubles tandem, too. Due to the limited fall roster, however, Choboy acknowledged that they will need time in the spring to try different lineups and combinations for other pairs. Freshman Chris Mikrovas from Greece had been expected to redshirt, but his rapid progress since enrolling in the summer im- pressed enough that Choboy and his staff decided to play him in fall tournaments instead. Sophomore Shoti Mepardize from the country of Georgia also showed im- provement throughout the fall tournaments, Choboy noted. "I think talent-wise we are going to be in pretty good shape," Choboy said. "If we can fill that leadership role and have that strong presence on the team I don't see why we can't meet or exceed last year's performance." ■ Players To Watch Junior Nick Horton Wolfpack head coach Jon Choboy noted that Horton wasted no time when last season ended to hit the training room before traveling to Europe and play tennis all summer. Horton provided good leadership throughout the fall. He posted 21 singles wins as a freshman and 22 last year, and Horton should be near the top of State's singles lineup in the spring. Senior Simon Norenius At one point last season, Norenius won 11 straight matches en route to a 22-12 overall record. One of his victories last spring was over No. 8 Ro - main Bogaerts of Wake Forest, one of two ranked opponents he toppled. Senior Thomas Weigel Weigel has 64 total singles wins in three seasons at NC State, including a team-high 25 last season after he went 9-1 in his final 10 matches. If Weigel can keep pace with his wins total from the previous three years, he has a chance to crack the top five in all-time career singles victories at NC State. ■ By The Numbers 4 Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances by NC State, the longest streak in school history. 6 Number of All-ACC honors collected by the three-player senior class that left off last year's team. ■ Key Matches • At Virginia, March 18 — Virginia offers the chance to test yourself against the best, literally. The Cavs are the defending national champion and have two of the last three NCAA titles. • Vs. UNC, March 20 — The Wolfpack's archrival come to Raleigh this season. The Heels reached the quarterfinals of last year's NCAA Championships. • ACC Championship, April 21-24 — The conference tournament will once again be held in Cary, N.C., and the league has established a reputation over the years for being the best in college tennis. Noting The Pack • Choboy had one recruit sign in the fall: four-star Sean Burnette from Wesley Chapel, Fla. Burnette is ranked 89th nationally by TennisRecruiting.net. He is 19-8 against fellow four-star prospects and has also notched eight victories against five-star opponents. Burnette attends Saddlebrook Prep, a tennis acad - emy that has sent 83 players to colleges since 2000. • Few, if any, programs at NC State could boast the diversity that men's tennis coach Jon Choboy has on his squad. Counting the United States and the Saveljic twins, Igor and Ivan, from Montenegro that will arrive in January, there will be eight differ - ent countries represented on NCSU's roster. The coach noted that the Europeans often com- pete in a club system that promotes the team concept well. "The quality of the character of the international kids is really good and that makes things a whole lot easier," Choboy added. Junior Nick Horton, a native of Australia who posted a 22-17 singles record a year ago, has stepped into a leadership role this season. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS

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