Friday, March 11
Long Beach, Calif.
5 PM ET/2 PM PT
NC State
4
at
2
Long Beach State
No. 31 Wolfpack Overcomes Adverse Weather to Down Long Beach State
3/11/2016 8:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis
No. 31 women's tennis captures 4-2 victory over Long Beach State after mid-match rain delay
LONG BEACH, Calif. - No. 31 NC State collected its ninth victory of the season Friday in a 4-2 victory over Long Beach State. No. 61 Martina Frantova clinched the dual for the Wolfpack for the second consecutive match this season in a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 win over No. 66 Maeva Razakasoa.
Friday's match, originally scheduled for 5 p.m. EST, took an early 2 p.m. EST start to avoid oncoming weather. The dual began with singles play that was briefly delayed due to rain during the final sets of No. 1 and No. 5 singles.
At the time of the rain delay the Pack held a 3-1 lead over the 49ers. Joanna Nalborska and Tayla Stenta eached picked up her seventh wins of the season Friday afternoon. Nalborska defeated Ebba Unden 6-4, 6-0 while Stenta captured a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Georgie Sanders. After dropping the first set 2-6, a determined Bianca Moldovan achieved a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Julie Gerard at the No. 3 singles to bring the Wolfpack just one point shy of a dual clinch.
No. 61 Frantova split sets 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) and led No. 66 Razakasoa 4-1 in the final set at the time of the 10-minute delay. Frantova saved two match points and took the final set 6-1, collecting back-to-back dual clinches for the Pack. Last weekend Frantova clinched NC State's 5-2 upset of No. 24 Syracuse.
SIMON SAYS:
"First of all, Long Beach State is a very good team. It has won 11 of the last 12 Big West titles and I knew this would be an extremely difficult test for the girls. This was further complicated by the rain, which we knew was coming mid afternoon, causing us to bump the match up and play singles first. That being said, this was another match that we found a way to fight through, that was a team effort and I was proud of the effort every girl made to keep going no matter what.
"I thought the key was Martina and Bianca turning their matches around giving us just enough momentum going into the third set of each to come out on top. Martina saved two match points in the second set breaker at 4-6 and was very tough mentally when she needed to be. Bianca's been having a rough go of it recently but she stayed very positive throughout today and that made the difference. This team is growing in confidence and is starting to understand what it takes to be successful. We will be ready to see how hard we can push ourselves up in Malibu against Top-20 opposition in Pepperdine tomorrow." - Simon Earnshaw, head coach
Doubles play against the Beach did not take place due to weather conditions.
The Red and White returns to action tomorrow afternoon at No. 17 Pepperdine.
SINGLES:
1. #61 Martina Frantova (ST) def. #66 Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. Joanna Nalborska (ST) def. Ebba Unden (LBSU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Bianca Moldovan (ST) def. Julie Gerard (LBSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Laura Eales (LBSU) def. Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
5. Hayley Thompson (LBSU) def. Claudia Wiktorin (ST) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
6. Tayla Stenta (ST) def. Georgie Sanders (LBSU) 6-3, 6-1
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State women's tennis:
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
Friday's match, originally scheduled for 5 p.m. EST, took an early 2 p.m. EST start to avoid oncoming weather. The dual began with singles play that was briefly delayed due to rain during the final sets of No. 1 and No. 5 singles.
At the time of the rain delay the Pack held a 3-1 lead over the 49ers. Joanna Nalborska and Tayla Stenta eached picked up her seventh wins of the season Friday afternoon. Nalborska defeated Ebba Unden 6-4, 6-0 while Stenta captured a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Georgie Sanders. After dropping the first set 2-6, a determined Bianca Moldovan achieved a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Julie Gerard at the No. 3 singles to bring the Wolfpack just one point shy of a dual clinch.
No. 61 Frantova split sets 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) and led No. 66 Razakasoa 4-1 in the final set at the time of the 10-minute delay. Frantova saved two match points and took the final set 6-1, collecting back-to-back dual clinches for the Pack. Last weekend Frantova clinched NC State's 5-2 upset of No. 24 Syracuse.
SIMON SAYS:
"First of all, Long Beach State is a very good team. It has won 11 of the last 12 Big West titles and I knew this would be an extremely difficult test for the girls. This was further complicated by the rain, which we knew was coming mid afternoon, causing us to bump the match up and play singles first. That being said, this was another match that we found a way to fight through, that was a team effort and I was proud of the effort every girl made to keep going no matter what.
"I thought the key was Martina and Bianca turning their matches around giving us just enough momentum going into the third set of each to come out on top. Martina saved two match points in the second set breaker at 4-6 and was very tough mentally when she needed to be. Bianca's been having a rough go of it recently but she stayed very positive throughout today and that made the difference. This team is growing in confidence and is starting to understand what it takes to be successful. We will be ready to see how hard we can push ourselves up in Malibu against Top-20 opposition in Pepperdine tomorrow." - Simon Earnshaw, head coach
Doubles play against the Beach did not take place due to weather conditions.
The Red and White returns to action tomorrow afternoon at No. 17 Pepperdine.
SINGLES:
1. #61 Martina Frantova (ST) def. #66 Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
2. Joanna Nalborska (ST) def. Ebba Unden (LBSU) 6-4, 6-0
3. Bianca Moldovan (ST) def. Julie Gerard (LBSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Laura Eales (LBSU) def. Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
5. Hayley Thompson (LBSU) def. Claudia Wiktorin (ST) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
6. Tayla Stenta (ST) def. Georgie Sanders (LBSU) 6-3, 6-1
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State women's tennis:
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
Players Mentioned
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