CHAPEL HILL N.C. — If you come for the king, you best not miss.
No. 7 NC State women’s tennis learned that the hard way against No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill, because for at least another match, the Heels will remain the rulers of women’s college tennis.
While play was competitive throughout the contest in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels (25-0, 11-0 ACC) showed why they’re the uncontested No. 1 team in the nation by sweeping the Wolfpack (17-3, 8-2 ACC). NC State had its chances, playing the Heels close on a majority of courts in both rounds, which made it all the tougher pill to swallow for the Pack at the end of the night.
“We put ourselves in a good position on several courts and didn’t close out,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “I think that’s tougher because there’s more of a sense of loss. This one’s gonna be difficult [to get past].”
The doubles point was hotly contested by both teams with UNC and NC State each grabbing wins on courts one and three, respectively. First, the Heels dismantled junior Amelia Rajecki and fifth-year senior Nell Miller 6-0, but graduate student Alana Smith and freshman Anna Zyryanova responded with a 6-2 win on court three.
With the round in the balance, it was up to juniors Abigail Rencheli and Sophie Abrams on court two, where they were going back and forth with their opponents for a majority of the match. However, Carolina started to pull away when it mattered the most and eventually toppled the juniors 6-3 to capture the 1-0 advantage.
After doubles, Carolina ran away with the lead all the way through its clinch at 4-0 and its eventual 7-0 sweep. In spite of the outcome, NC State had promising starts to its singles matches, but after multiple weather delays and UNC gaining momentum, the match was over as soon as it started for the Pack.
While junior Gina Dittmann, Smith and Rajecki earned first-set wins on their respective courts, the Heels struck quickly in singles with a straight-sets win over Zyryanova on court six. After NC State’s promising starts, the visitors failed to win another set as the Heels gained steam. UNC then captured another dominant straight-sets win over Rencheli on court three, putting the Pack’s chances for a historic win on a lifeline.
With NC State hanging by a thread, Carolina was cutthroat, defeating Abrams in a hotly-contested match on court four. The junior battled hard but eventually fell 6-4, 6-3 to make it 4-0 — solidifying the win for the Tar Heels.
The day’s second weather delay forced play inside, but UNC’s momentum wasn’t slowed in the slightest. In fact, the Heels captured the remaining three wins in quick succession once indoors. First came a three-set comeback win for Carolina’s No. 83 Elizabeth Scotty over Dittmann, who dropped her final two sets after winning her first.
Next, the No. 1 player in the nation, Fiona Crawley, got her own comeback win on court one against Smith. The graduate student had the nation’s best player on the ropes early on, but Crawley gutted out a second-set win and defeated Smith in their third set superbreaker 10-7 for UNC’s sixth point of the day. To wrap up the sweep, the Heels collected another three-set win, this time over Rajecki on court two.
NC State’s 7-0 loss is a much different outcome than its close 4-3 loss to the Heels last season in Raleigh. However, the Wolfpack won’t have any time to dwell on the defeat with matches versus No. 6 Duke, No. 11 Texas and No. 9 Virginia on the horizon.
Next up for the Pack is the Blue Devils, and while they won’t pose the same challenge that UNC did, facing Duke in Durham will be yet another daunting task for NC State, especially if the red-and-white falls behind like it did against the Heels.
“We have to get out and try and establish a lead early against teams like this because once they get their head out front, they’re awfully hard to catch up with,” Earnshaw said. “Duke is obviously very good. Player for player, they’re an excellent team.”
Play against the Blue Devils is set for Saturday, April 8 at 11 a.m. in Durham.
