No. 8 NC State women’s tennis continued its campaign against top NCAA contenders with a trip up to the midwest, falling to No. 2 Ohio State on Friday but recovering with a win against No. 17 Michigan on Sunday.
Versus the Buckeyes (7-1), the Pack (7-4) played its fifth-straight match against a top-10 opponent and fourth match out of the last five against a top-5 team. NC State held its own, winning the doubles point and claiming one point on the singles courts, but saw straight-set losses on four of the first five courts. Versus the Wolverines (1-4), the Wolfpack fared much better, securing every single point and picking up four wins versus higher-ranked players.
No. 2 Ohio State
With the reigning national champion doubles team in the lineup, NC State positioned itself well early as No. 2 pairing junior Gabriella Broadfoot and freshman Victoria Osuigwe took down Ohio State’s Hephzibah Oluwadare and Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev 6-4. Sophomore Mia Slama and freshman Lavinia Tanasie followed suit, taking their doubles match 6-2 versus Ohio State’s Teah Chavez and Alessia Cau.
But from there, things went awry for NC State. Sporting two top-15 singles players, Ohio State outperformed the Pack in all but one match, with four of the five Buckeye wins coming in straight sets.
The skid began when No. 43 Broadfoot was overcome by 2025 ITA All-American No. 13 Teah Chavez 6-2, 6-2. Soon, another NC State veteran fell as No. 110 senior Anna Zyryanova lost 6-3, 6-2 to No. 114 Cisse-Ignatiev. Extending the Buckeye lead to 3-1 before the Pack could claim a singles match was No. 3 Luciana Perry, who took care of NC State star No. 36 Slama, who put up a good fight forcing a tiebreak to stay alive in the second set before falling 6-2, 7-6(5).
Junior Jasmine Conway picked up the lone singles point for the Pack as she took down Oluwadare in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. But the match came to a halt as the Class of 2025 No. 2 recruit Osuigwe fell 7-5, 6-4 to Ohio State’s more experienced Audrey Spencer. With the loss already in the books, No. 18 Tanasie finished her match with No. 52 Nao Nishino, falling 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
No. 17 Michigan
After the tough loss to Ohio State, NC State responded by beating down Michigan 7-0, dominating in every aspect of the game. The Pack fought in a series of battles, with four of the six singles matches heading into a third set. But the Wolfpack claimed every single one.
It began with a dominant showing in the doubles, where all three pairings were on pace to win, as the lone unfinished doubles set concluded with a score of 5-1. With one of the best doubles teams in the nation in Broadfoot and Osuigwe, and another top-20 pairing in Zyryanova and Conway, the Pack has a lot of firepower up top.
Keeping the block hot, Slama, Broadfoot, Zyryanova and Osuigwe all picked up wins over higher-ranked opponents as they took down No. 14 Lily Jones, No. 9 Piper Charney, No. 72 Reese Miller and No. 85 Emily Sartz-Lunde, respectively.
Over on Court 4, Tanasie also picked up a ranked win, disposing of No. 94 Jessica Bernales in straight sets. Rounding things out, Conway defeated Gabriella Lindgren 7-5, 6-2 for a resounding 7-0 sweep.
The most compelling match was the final one: Broadfoot versus Charney. Broadfoot has struggled so far this season in the singles as she had faced some of the top players in the country — including No. 1 Reese Brantmeier — and had lost five straight. But the South African overcame that hurdle versus Charney, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, proving why she deserves that top spot on the team.
The Pack will get more chances to face top-caliber teams as it takes another road trip, this time to California to face No. 14 Cal on Friday Feb. 27 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and No. 22 Stanford Saturday at 3 p.m.
