No. 5 NC State women’s tennis got back to its winning ways on Sunday, March 12 in Tallahassee, Florida, defeating Florida State thanks to a stellar showing in singles play.
One match removed from its loss to No. 18 Miami, the Wolfpack (11-2, 4-1 ACC) rebounded quickly against Florida State (7-6, 2-3 ACC) in the second stop of its five-match road trip. Despite surprisingly losing the doubles point, NC State put up a singles sweep in the next round to beat the Seminoles 6-1.
The Wolfpack is known as one of the best teams in the nation in doubles, so when Florida State took the early point, it was certainly a shock. The Pack’s No. 18-ranked pair of freshman Diana Shnaider and graduate student Alana Smith blanked their opponents on court one 6-0, but NC State’s two other pairs couldn’t get the job done on their respective courts, leaving the visitors at a deficit heading into singles.
The doubles result must have lit a fire under the Wolfpack, as it proceeded to sweep the Seminoles in singles. First, No. 123 junior Sophie Abrams marched through her opponent 6-2, 6-1 on court five to start the sweep. Next, the No. 35-ranked Shnaider got back in the win column with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court one over her ranked opponent.
The No. 9-ranked Smith fell right in line with Abrams and Shnaider, cruising through her two-set match without much trouble at all. Smith’s 6-1, 6-3 win also put the Pack into clinch position at 3-1. To secure the win, fifth-year senior Nell Miller won on court six via a 6-3, 6-4 decision, but the Wolfpack wasn’t satisfied just yet.
NC State’s final two wins weren’t as easily earned as its others, but juniors Amelia Rajecki and Abigail Rencheli prevailed all the same in their respective three-set matches that both ended in third-set superbreakers.
First, the No. 18-ranked Rajecki took court three 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7). After losing her first set, she took the next one and her breaker to put the match at 5-1. Almost simultaneously, the No. 55-ranked Rencheli had a very similar match on the adjacent court, winning 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (10-8). She persevered through not one, but two tiebreakers on her way to the grueling victory that sealed the 6-1 win.
The victory over the Seminoles marks the Pack’s fourth conference victory, and the likely start of a new win streak after Miami ended its previous one.
NC State will stay in Florida for the next stop on its road trip—a duel with the UCF Knights on Friday, March 17 at 5 p.m.
