After five firm kicks, NC State women’s tennis finally broke down the door.
Falling in its first four matches versus top-5 opponents, No. 14 NC State (13-5, 5-1 ACC) proved it can compete with the best, taking down No. 2 Pepperdine (11-4) 4-3 on the road in an intense battle. Throughout the season against top opponents, versus then-No. 3 UNC, No. 4 Auburn, then-No. 5 LSU and then-No. 2 Ohio State, the results were all the same: marks in the loss column.
But versus Pepperdine, the Wolfpack proved it could compete with the best in the nation. Pepperdine was riding an eight-match win streak, having swept both No. 3 Ohio State and No. 8 USC 4-0. Nevertheless, when the Pack came to town, the Waves seemed to calm.
NC State claimed the doubles point despite its No. 2 pairing freshman Victoria Osuigwe and junior Gabriella Broadfoot falling on doubles Court 1 to No. 15 Sonja Zhiyenbayeva and Ziva Falkner, 6-3. But No. 80 duo of senior Anna Zyryanova and junior Jasmine Conway claimed the win on Court 2, 6-4, while sophomore Mia Slama and freshman Lavinia Tanasie came through on Court 3, 7-5.
The opposite arc played out in the singles. The Pack struggled mightily on the bottom three courts with three straight-set losses. Conway fell on Court 6, 6-3, 6-3. Osuigwe fell on Court 5 6-0, 6-4 to No. 107 Duru Soke. No. 51 Tanasie fell on Court 4, 6-4, 7-6(3).
The top courts were where the Pack shined, as each of NC State’s top players claimed ranked wins.
On Court 1, No. 44 Slama made quick work of No. 23 Ziva Falkner 6-4, 6-2, moving to 8-6 in the spring season. On Court 3, No. 65 Zyryanova knocked off No.13 Anastasiia Grechkina 6-4, 7-5.
Closing it out on Court 2, No. 48 Broadfoot took down No. 36 Zhiyenbayeva after dropping the first set. She stormed back to take the second set 6-4, and nearly handed out a donut in Set 3, winning 6-1 to clinch the victory for the Pack.
After NC State secured maybe its biggest win of the year, it seems illogical to want to tinker with the lineup. But the Pack just got a talented player in sophomore Amelie Smejkalova approved for NCAA play after she transferred mid-year, as she made her first appearance against No. 32 SMU, falling there in straight sets.
At her previous stop, Clemson, Smejkalova played in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots to varying degrees of success, but head coach Simon Earnshaw seems to have a lot of confidence in the 21-year-old Czechian. With Conway and Osuigwe falling on the bottom courts and not performing to their usual standard, will he find a way to bring her into the lineup?
We won’t find out for another week as the Pack is idle until Friday, March 27 as the Pack hosts Boston College (8-6, 0-4 ACC) at 3 p.m.
