The N.C. State women’s tennis team lost their match against North Carolina Wednesday in Chapel Hill.
The unranked Wolfpack (5-9) lost to the No. 15 Tar Heels (12-4) by a score of 6-1. The Tar Heels were hot after coming off a recent win against No. 18 Michigan.
“[We] learned from today’s match the importance of having a strong response to adversity,” head coach Hans Olsen said. “We got that response going in the singles today against UNC . And we have to be ready to fight back earlier in the match.”
The Pack entered the match with high hopes after beating No. 65 William & Mary in Raleigh last Thursday and hoped to carry the momentum of that match into Chapel Hill.
Play began as the Tar Heels overwhelmed the Wolfpack right out of the gate. UNC’s No. 1 doubles pairing, ranked No. 13 in the nation, quickly won their match against State’s No. 1 doubles team and were soon followed by Carolina’s No. 2 pair, ranked No. 53, who also won their match. This 2-0 advantage in doubles matches clinched the doubles point for UNC .
State’s No. 3 pair of freshman Elisha Hande and junior Chloe Smith put up a strong fight before eventually losing their match, 8-5. This win for Carolina meant they had swept the doubles matches and went into singles play with a 1-0 overall advantage.
After losing the doubles point, State sent out their singles players in hopes of reversing the momentum of the match. UNC quickly gained a 2-0 lead over State by winning at No. 6 singles, but then State answered through sophomore Joelle Kissell . Kissell , ranked No. 60 nationally, improved on her stellar season by beating her Carolina opponent No. 33 Zoe De Bruycker , 6-0, 6-3. The win moves Kissell’s singles record to 9-5 on the season.
“I think I’ve had a pretty good season,” Kissell said. “I’ve done a good job of playing within myself the whole year and today everything just came together and clicked.”
Things started to look better for the Wolfpack after Kissell’s win. Junior Tatiana Illova won the first set of her match, 6-1, and got involved in a battle in the second set, but eventually lost her match in the third set tiebreak . Senior Ashley Miller was also involved in a tough first set, but she eventually lost 6-4, 6-2.
Despite stiff resistance from the State players across the board, UNC won all the remaining matches and won the match by an overall score of 6-1. The loss for State moves their record in ACC matches to 1-2 on the year.
“[Our] execution in singles is improving,” Olsen said. “We’ll be staying on that focus.”
The Wolfpack women return to action Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Florida State and Sunday at 1 p.m. against Miami. Both matches are played on campus in Raleigh at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
