Collegiate Times

Hokies junior Will Beck, from Potomac, Md., competes against in-state rival Virginia on Feb. 23 in conference play.

The No. 21 men’s tennis team ended a two-match ACC losing streak this past weekend with victories over then-No. 18 Wake Forest and then-No. 47 NC State.

The Hokies won the doubles point against Wake Forest and then scored several upsets in singles en route to a 5-2 victory.

Tech’s No. 61 Luka Somen defeated No. 42 Tripper Carleton 6-2, 6-0 and Corrado Tocci defeated No. 101 Iain Atkinson 6-1, 6-4.

Will Beck and No. 117 Sebastian Jacques also picked up singles victories for Tech.

“We were really happy about the way we played against Wake Forest. I thought that was a great team effort and something we really worked hard for,” said coach Jim Thompson.

“They beat us twice last year. We lost in the regular season in a tough match and again in the ACC Tournament.”

The victory over NC State was a tighter 4-3 contest as the Hokies came out slowly in doubles, losing two of three doubles matches.

Tech’s No. 74 ranked pairing of Yoann Re and Jacques lost its second tight doubles match of the weekend, 8-5.

In singles, Somen continued his streak with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Dominic Hodgson.  

Patrick Daciek, along with Tocci and Jacques, picked up wins to seal the match.

“We may have come out a little flat in the doubles against a really good NC State team, but I’m pleased about the way our guys fought back out,” said Thompson.

No. 38-ranked Re, playing in the top singles spot for the Hokies, lost twice over the weekend, adding to a five match singles losing streak.

After his singles defeat against Wake Forest, Re came out very sluggish against NC State.

He lost the first set 6-1 and was down 3-0 in the second before mounting a strong comeback effort against Jaime Pulgar, before ultimately falling 6-4.

“I started being a lot more consistent (toward end of the match) and I cut down the number of mistakes, and I was getting back and broke him twice at the end,” Re said. “I had a breakpoint in the last game and I got unlucky ... he hit the net, and the ball fell right behind.”

In a sport where mentality and confidence mean so much, nobody wants to carry a losing streak into the postseason.

“For sure I lost confidence,” Re said. “I came back in the last match and I hope I am going to start playing better this weekend and gain some confidence heading toward the ACCs.”

“I think he started to find his game, but it’s tough when you play in our league in number,” Thompson said. “If you are a little bit off or questioning your game the guys are too good.”

“He is one of the best players in our league, and he’ll finish out the year strong — I have no doubt,” Thompson said.

Meanwhile, Somen is playing his best tennis coming into the final weekend of regular season play.

Somen, who is the reigning ACC freshman of the year, has gone from unranked to No. 61.

In regards to his impressive play, Somen modestly said, “Nothing special, I just train, practice hard, work hard on the court and in the gym.”

If Somen continues his solid play throughout the next weekend and the ACC tournament, he may have a shot to make the NCAA singles tournament.

“I’m not sure, the new ranking is going to come out tomorrow so then we’re going to see if I’m in a good position or not but I’m pretty sure I’m close,” Somen said.

The Hokies will travel to Clemson and Georgia Tech this weekend to finish out the regular season.

Two more victories would ensure at least a fourth-place finish in the ACC and a solid seed for the upcoming conference tournament.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 14 issue of the Collegiate Times.