'Cats Fall to Wolfpack, 5-2

2/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Feb. 11, 2011

Complete Results

Site: Raleigh, N.C.
Score: No. 58 North Carolina State 5, No. 70 Northwestern 2
Records: NU (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) North Carolina State (5-3, 0-0 ACC)
Next NU Event: Sunday, Feb. 13 at William & Mary • Williamsburg, Va. • 9 a.m. CT

RALEIGH, N.C.-- Northwestern posted a clean sweep in doubles play but ultimately dropped a 5-2 decision to North Carolina State Friday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.

NU's No. 2 doubles team of Tobias Reitz and Andrew McCarthy posted the first win of the afternoon when they posted an 8-3 victory, which set the stage for Joshua Graves and Spencer Wolf to clinch the doubles point with their 8-6 win over Dominic Hodgson and Julian Sullivan. Wolf and Graves are now a perfect 6-0 for the Wildcats at the No. 1 doubles spot this season.

But the North Carolina State duo of Hodgson and Sullivan came back stronger in their respective singles matches, with the 82nd-ranked Hodgson becoming the first singles player to finish with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1. Sullivan later contributed to the Wolfpack cause by topping McCarthy in a hard-fought match, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, at the No. 3 position. It was McCarthy's first time this season playing as high as No. 3.

With sophomore Chris Jackman having posted a swift 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 6 over Rob Lowe, NU found itself in need of wins at the No. 4 and 5 positions to pull out a win. But N.C. State's Rafael Paez pulled away from Reitz in the third set at No. 4 and Ivan Sanchez Gomez set the final team score at 5-2 when he edged freshman Raleigh Smith in a third-set tiebreaker.

Following a day off, Northwestern continues its road trip Sunday when it faces William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Start time is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT.

No. 58 North Carolina State 5, No. 70 Northwestern 2
Singles:
1: #82 Dominic Hodgson (NCST) def. Joshua Graves (NU), 6-1, 6-2
2: #106 Dave Thomson (NCST) def. Spencer Wolf (NU), 6-0, 6-4
3: Julian Sullivan (NCST) def. Andrew McCarthy (NU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
4: Rafael Paez (NCST) def. Tobias Reitz (NU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
5: Ivan Sanchez Gomez (NCST) def. Raleigh Smith (NU), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (4)
6: Chris Jackman (NU) def. Rob Lowe (NCST), 6-0, 6-1

Doubles:
1: Graves/Wolf (NU) def. Hodgson/Sullivan (NCST), 8-6
2: Reitz/McCarthy (NU) def. Rollinson/Thomson (NCST), 8-3
3: Jackman/Smith (NU) def. Lowe/Sanchez-Gomez (NCST), 9-7

Order of Finish:
Singles (1, 2, 6, 3, 4, 5)
Doubles (2, 1, 3)

•••••••••••••••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!