March 2, 2024
Final: NC State 5 Louisville 2
Game 1 Recap
Raleigh, NC- On Sunday afternoon at the Isenhour Tennis Complex, the #10 NC State Wolfpack(12-3, 2-0) hosted their 2nd double header of the weekend as the Louisville Cardinals(4-7, 0-4) and East Tennessee State Buccaneers(5-5, 2-0) both were in town on Sunday.
The Pack, coming fresh off Friday doubleheader wins over Notre Dame and East Carolina, were once again dominant in both of their matches on Sunday.
The Pack began the day with a conference match with the Cardinals. The action began with the doubles matches. The Pack sent out Anna Zyryanova and Sophie Abrams, Amelia Rajecki and Maddy Zampardo, and Gabriella Broadfoot and Abigail Rencheli. Rajecki and Zampardo made quick work of the Cardinals, winning 6-1 as they cruised throughout the match with several forehand and backhand winners. The Cardinals were consistently on their heels and never recovered after tying the first set at 1-1. Rajecki and Zampardo rattled off 5 straight games to take the early match.
In the second doubles match, Zyryanova and Abrams were able to secure the doubles point as they earned the 6-4 win. In what was a back-and-forth match, the Pack eventually were able to break the Cardinals late to secure the win. Broadfoot and Rencheli also won their match 6-3 in the third doubles match as they were able to control their match thoroughly throughout.
In the singles action, Amelia Rajecki continued to dominate in straight sets winning 6-1, 6-2 to give the Pack a 2-0 team lead. Senior Gena Dittman also took her match in straight sets 6-0,6-2. The match win gave the Pack a 3-0 team lead. Dittman was dominant throughout her match earning several forehand winners. In the third match of the day, Anna Zyryanova earned a 3 set victory 4-6 6-1 after her opponent retired in the second set. The win pushed the lead to 4-0 and earned the Wolfpack the win in the first match of the double header.
In the 3 later matches, Senior Sophie Abrams dropped her match in a 3rd set tiebreak 6-1,5-7,0-1. Freshman Christina Paskauskus also dropped her match in 3 sets 1-6,7-5,0-1. The 2 losses cut the lead to 4-2 in the overall team score.
The final match of the day was also a 3 set affair as senior Abigail Rencheli found herself earning the 5th point of the day as she earned the tiebreak win to give the Pack the win 5-2.
Game 2 Recap
Final NC State 7 East Tennessee State 0
In match 2 of the day, the Wolfpack started the same doubles lineup that they started the day with against the Cardinals. Gabriella Broadcast and Abigail Rencheli were easy winners at 6-0 to give the Pack their first match win. Rencheli and Broadfoot had the Buccaneers on their toe and the Buccaneers committed several unforced errors.
In the best match of the doubles session, Rajecki and Zampardo were locked in a very tight match. At one point down 5-2 in the match, the Wolfpack were able to storm back to even the game at 5-5. The match ended up being abandoned at 5-6 as Anna Zyryanova and Sophia Adams were able to win their match 6-4 after being down 4-2. 2 breaks later, the Pack earned the first double point to take the lead 1-0.
In the singles matches, the Wolfpack continued its dominance over the Buccaneers. Amelia Rajecki was able to win in straight sets after falling behind early in the set down 3-2. Rajecki stormed back winning four straight games to win the set 6-3. Rajecki used her service game to put the pressure on her opponent and ended up taking the match.
Freshman Maddy Zampardo was able to cruise in her match winning in straight sets 6-2,6-1 to give the Pack a quick 2-0 lead in the team scoring as she was able to continue to put pressure on her opponent from the baseline and hit several impressive winners to handle her opponent quickly. The Pack continued to put the pressure on the Buccaneers the rest of the way.
The second singles match to go the Pack’s way involved senior Anna Zyryanova who also won in straight sets 6-2,6-0 to give the Pack the 3-0 lead. The Sophomore was able to breeze through the match using several forehand and backhand winners to gain the advantage and keep her opponent moving on the baseline. The Pack would extend their lead further mere minutes later as senior Gina Dittman also cruised through her match in straight sets 6-0, 6-3. The win earned the Pack the match win with the 4th team point of the night.
In the late matches, Senior Amelia Rajecki was able to win her match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. In what was the match brimming with energy and emotion, Rajecki was able to harness the energy to earn the victory after several back-and-forth points and games. The win would extend the lead to 5-0 for Pack as they entered the final 2 matches with the lead in both. Broadfoot would go on to win her match 6-1,4-6,1-0 in a 3-set tiebreak to give the Pack their 6th team point of the night and entered the last match up 1 set to none. Abigail Rencheli fell behind early in her match but rebounded to take a first set tiebreak 7-6. She would go on to win her match in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. After falling down 4-3 and a medical timeout, Rencheli came back to win the last 3 games of the set to earn the Pack the 7th team point of the night and a sweep of all matches.
Next up for the Pack is a Friday night game with Wake Forest back at Isenhour Tennis Complex at 12 pm.
