No. 8 NC State women’s tennis doubled down on its season-opening sweep over SMU with two dominant 7-0 wins over Campbell and NC Central in an early-season doubleheader.
The Wolfpack (3-0) brought the brooms to the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, defeating both the Camels (0-2) and Eagles (0-2) with near-flawless singles and doubles play. NC State didn’t drop a single set all day, and 18 matches of winning tennis continued to help the Pack prepare for its long season
“I think we were pretty focused,” said senior Amelia Rajecki. “Coach has spoken a lot about this week with us, making sure that we know what we’re doing and have the right intentions. And I think everyone went out and achieved that today.”
Versus Campbell, 7-0
NC State started its day off strong with a 7-0 sweep over the Campbell Camels. The Wolfpack beat out its opposition with minimal losses in both singles and doubles on the way to a perfect first leg of its doubleheader day.
All three doubles pairs won with ease in the early round. The No. 7 pair of freshman Maddy Zampardo and Rajecki won 6-2, while No. 52 freshman Gabriella Broadfoot and senior Abigail Rencheli clinched the point with a 6-1 win.
The Pack’s first singles round went just as smoothly as its doubles. With quick, straight-set wins across the board, Campbell was no match for the red-and-white.
No. 3 Rajecki stormed her Camel opponent on court one with an easy 6-1, 6-3 win. No. 27 Rencheli did the same on Rajecki’s adjacent court, downing her opponent 6-1, 6-1 to put NC State into clinch position.
Despite a tough second set, No. 40 sophomore Anna Zyryanova defeated her opponent 6-2, 7-5 to clinch the Pack’s win. Zyryanova, who joined NC State just before the start of last year’s spring season, has made big strides as a player and member of the Wolfpack.
“I think she’s very, very capable as a tennis player,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “I think she’s right there with the older players as far as the type of tennis she can play and maybe even a little bit ahead of them sometimes.”
No. 116 Maddy Zampardo faced the most opposition on the day but still pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win after making a second-set comeback that ended in a tiebreaker win for the freshman.
To finish off the match, No. 19 senior Sophie Abrams won 6-3, 6-0 and freshman Kristina Paskauskas nearly perfected her opponent 6-0, 6-1.
Versus NC Central, 7-0
The Wolfpack didn’t lose a step in between its first and second match of the day. NC State pulled off a seamless doubles round to start its second leg. Broadfoot and Rencheli blanked their opponents 6-0 on court two while senior Gina Dittmann and Paskauskas did the same in their 2023 doubles debut on court three.
The red-and-white finished its doubleheader with another dominant singles round. Dittmann followed her doubles win with surgical singles victory, taking court four to put the Pack up 2-0. No. 19 Abrams followed behind her with a 6-4, 6-1 win as the Pack approached its second win of the day.
After a long day of tennis, No. 3 Rajecki made it official with her 6-3, 6-2 match-clinching win on court one despite NC Central giving her more of a battle than she expected.
“Today was mentally, definitely, tough, physically tough,” Rajecki said. “But I think I stuck to it. Doubleheaders are always challenging. NC Central came out and they played tough. I didn’t expect that. But no, it was just clean, I enjoyed it.”
No. 40 Zyryanova extended the lead to 5-0 with her second win of the day, a 6-4, 6-2 finish on court four. Broadfoot then captured her first win in the red and white as she dismantled her Eagle opponent 6-0, 6-0. After Broadfoot’s perfect score on court six, Paskauskas finished off the Wolfpack’s 14-0 day with a 6-0, 6-2 victory on court five.
Going Forward
After the Pack’s doubleheader sweep, it’ll turn its attention to the first rounds of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next weekend.
“Funnily enough, in the two years we didn’t make the national indoors, we made the final four,” Earnshaw said. “So maybe it’s not that important, but I think definitely, to increase your chances of hosting a Regional and hosting a Super Regional, it’s an event you want to be in.”
Despite any possible superstitions Earnshaw and the Wolfpack have about the event, the National Indoors Tournament presents an opportunity for NC State to add to its resume by playing and beating the best competition from around the country.
The ITA’s have not been kind to the Wolfpack in recent seasons — especially considering NC State’s upset loss to Vanderbilt in 2023 — but Earnshaw is determined to succeed this season, starting with a showdown against Alabama.
“I think Alabama has got a very tough roster, got a new coach and I think he’s doing a good job there,” Earnshaw said. “So we’re going to have a tough ask in that in that first match. But I think we’re trying to educate [the team] as far as what that then means moving forward.”
NC State’s ITA Kick-Off Weekend is set to begin on Saturday, Jan. 27 at noon against the Crimson Tide in Raleigh.
