No. 15 NC State women’s tennis won its third ranked match of the season and its second ACC match in a 4-2 rout over No. 24 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana on Sunday afternoon.
Just a couple days after beating Louisville in its ACC opener, the Wolfpack (7-3, 2-0 ACC) concluded its two-match road trip with another strong doubles round and an eventual triumph in a back-and-forth singles round against the Fighting Irish (12-2, 2-1 ACC).
Despite the struggle at the end of the match, NC State got off to a hot start in doubles. A perennially excellent doubles squad, the Wolfpack won on Courts 1 and 3 to put the Fighting Irish in a quick 1-0 hole.
Sophomore Kristina Paskauskas and freshman Michaela Laki first set down their opponents on Court 3 in a 6-4 victory. While Notre Dame defeated the duo of junior Anna Zyryanova and freshman Mia Slama on Court 2 by a score of 6-3, the formidable No. 2 pair of sophomores Gabriella Broadfoot and Maddy Zampardo won in a close, 7-5 match to take the round.
Notre Dame responded in the singles round with an early win over No. 30 Laki. Despite starting the year off strong against her often-ranked opponents, Laki has struggled in recent weeks against them. Falling to No. 106 Akari Matsuno 6-1, 6-0, Laki’s loss put the score at 1-1.
However, the red-and-white responded with a two-set win from Zyryanova. The junior’s 6-2, 6-3 win on Court 2 put NC State back out in front at 2-1 while a win from No. 73 freshman Gabia Paskauskas widened the Pack’s lead to 3-1 with her 7-5, 6-1 win on Court 6.
Her older sister, Kristina Paskauskas, then suffered a close 7-6, 7-5 loss on Court 5, inching Notre Dame closer to NC State once again.
From there though, Broadfoot delivered the clinch with a three-set victory on Court 4. The only completed three-set match of the day, the sophomore beat her Fighting Irish opponent 4-6, 6-1, 7-6. Broadfoot finished her match with a tiebreak victory and set down Notre Dame for good in South Bend.
NC State will return to Raleigh for another pair of ACC matches this weekend. The Pack will take on Virginia Tech on Friday before battling the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday.
First serve against the Hokies is set for 2 p.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
