No. 14 NC State women’s tennis downs South Carolina State in first round of NCAAs

No. 14 NC State women’s tennis started its run in the 2024 NCAA Championships off strong with a ruthless 4-0 first-round win over South Carolina State while hosting in Raleigh.

After facing the Bulldogs in the exact same round and place in last season’s championships, the Wolfpack repeated its performance from last year’s 4-0 win over South Carolina State. This time, NC State started slow in doubles, but found its footing by singles and eventually blew past its opponents in its sweeping victory.

The Pack started its quest to a second-straight national championship appearance with doubles wins from both of its ranked pairs. While all three duos started slowly by letting the Bulldogs keep pace, the No. 12 pair of senior Amelia Rajecki and freshman Maddy Zampardo and No. 29 pair of senior Sophie Abrams and sophomore Anna Zyryanova both pulled away from their opponents.

By the end of the round, Rajecki and Zampardo won 6-2 while Abrams and Zyryanova claimed the doubles point for their team in a 6-3 decision on court two. It seemed like NC State, a now-perennial national title contender, was going to continue its sluggish start from doubles into the next round, but the team quickly got a grip come the latter round.

“It's tough, right?” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “We don't ever want to have a ‘been there, done that’ attitude. We want to feel like every time is the first time and that we're excited to be there and I think we're going to need to do better in that regard tomorrow. [In] singles, we all of a sudden, we sprung to life.”

NC State raced past its opponents in singles, refusing to drop a set. With minimal losses in terms of games, the Pack easily won every first set while clinching the match with three, rapid-fire clinches.

While she faced the most adversity in her first set of any Wolfpack player, No. 2 Rajecki sat her opponent down in a fast 6-3, 6-0 win on court one to double the Pack’s lead.

Players such as No. 71 senior Abigail Rencheli, senior Gina Dittmann and Zampardo all won their first sets while losing a combined two games. However, it was No. 62 Zyryanova and Abrams who ended things in Raleigh.

Zyryanova completed her 6-1, 6-0 rout over her opponent while Abrams won 6-2, 6-2 on court six just seconds later to clinch the match at 4-0 and move on to the second round.

With Old Dominion beating South Carolina in a 4-3 thriller just before the Pack’s match, NC State is set for a clash with the Monarchs on Sunday, May 5.

“I'm sure they'll play hard,” Earnshaw said. “And I'm sure they'll be flying high after what was an amazing win for them today. So, we're gonna have to come out and match that energy in the beginning. I think at the same point in time, we just [can’t] let them feel comfortable.”

With NC State unlikely to host in the Super Regional Round next weekend like it did last season, the red-and-white’s match against Old Dominion is set to be the final home match for the Pack’s group of seniors.

To secure its right to play at least one more match this season and move on to the Sweet 16, NC State will have to contend with an energetic and determined Monarchs team.

“I think we need to gain control of our end of the court, do a bit better with the energy and intensity level in doubles, and then just keep going from there,” Earnshaw said. “But I expect them to fight hard, for sure. We need to match that.”

The Wolfpack is set to play Old Dominion at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Raleigh