University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
North Carolina State
NC State Edges Gophers in Home Opener
1/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Post-match Comments: Young | Corwin | Spec
MINNEAPOLIS - The Gopher Men's Tennis program opened its 2018 spring season hosting NC State with the Wolfpack narrowly edging the home team 4-3 at Baseline Tennis Center.
With the match tied at three wins apiece and the third set of first singles underway, no. 16-ranked Alexis Galarneau slipped by no. 35-ranked Stefan Milicevic 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to seal the victory for NC State (4-0). Minnesota (0-1) earned victories from Felix Corwin in second singles, 6-4, 6-4 over Igor Savelijic as well as no. 73 Matic Spec in third singles, 6-4, 7-6 (5), over Tabas Babelis.
Minnesota got off on the right foot, claiming the doubles point when first and third doubles wrapped up within a minute of each other. The No. 26 doubles pair in the nation, Felix Corwin and Matic Spec, picked up the first win for Minnesota, knocking off NC State's Igor and Ivan Savelijic, who had just one defeat on the year coming into the weekend, by a score of 6-2. Stefan Milicevic and Marino Alpeza stood tall in third doubles, defeating Tadas Babelis and Georgiy Malyshev 6-3.
Junior Josip Krstanovic took Ivan Savelijic to three sets in fourth single but fell as the Wolfpack junior took the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2). Robert Turzak defeated Eli Ogilvy in sixth singles, 6-2, 6-3, while Georgiy Malyshev edged Marino Alpeza 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Minnesota heads to the #ITAKickoff next weekend on Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 27-28 in Austin, Texas where they'll face Texas, Tennessee, and Notre Dame - all teams ranked in the top-50 according to the ITA.
Singles
1. #16 Alexis Galarneau (NCSt) def. #35 Stefan Milicevic (UMN) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2. Felix Corwin (UMN) def. Igor Savelijic (NCSt) 6-4, 6-4
3. #73 Matic Spec (UMN) def. Tabas Babelis (NC St) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
4. Ivan Savelijic (NCSt) def. Josip Krstanovic (UMN)
5. Georgiy Malyshev (NCSt) def. Marino Alpeza (UMN) 6-3, 7-6 (3)
6. Robert Turzak (NCSt) def. Eli Ogilvy (UMN) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. #26 F. Corwin/M. Spec (UMN) def. Ig. Savelijic/Iv. Savelijic (NCSt) 6-2
2. #32 M. Ogden/A. Galarneau (NCSt) def. Justyn Levin/J. Krstanovic (UMN) 5-4, unfinished
3. S. Milicevic/M. Alpeza (UMN) def. T. Babelis/G. Malyshev (NCSt), 6-3
Order of Finish
Doubles (1, 3); Singles (6, 2, 5, 3, 4, 1)
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