NC State
Charleston Southern
Pack Opens Spring with Shutout Win
1/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 22, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. --- NC State’s 46th-ranked women’s tennis team kicked off the 2011 season with a dominating, 7-0 win over Charleston Southern Saturday at Isenhour Tennis Center.
“I thought today was a good start to the year for our team,” said NC State head coach Hans Olsen. “It was great for us to get started with the competitive intensity that we showed today.”
The Pack’s two nationally-ranked doubles teams wasted no time in defending their reputations. Seventh-ranked Sanaa Bhambri and Sandhya Nagaraj knocked off Charleston Southern’s Makhova/Dzakovic tandem 8-2, while 86th-ranked Ashley Miller and Christy Sipes dispatched Walters/Pletcher 8-4.
Freshman Joelle Kissell and sophomore Chloe Smith scored the first win of NC State’s spring season, making short work of Isbell/Nour to notch an 8-1 victory.
The Wolfpack’s success carried over into singles play, where all six matches were straight-set wins for NC State.
Bhambri defended her 32nd-place national ranking with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Olga Makhovic in what would be the longest of the opening singles matches.
Nagaraj closed out Marija Dzakovic 6-0, 6-2 to hold on to her 53rd-place standing.
Lenka Hojckova and Tana Illova enjoyed the most decisive victories of the early matches as Illova triumphed over Alexandra Walters 6-0, 6-1, and Hojckova grabbed a 6-1, 6-0 win over Brooke Pletcher.
“Lenka [Hojckova] played really well,” said Olsen. “During the first handful of games in her singles match, the opponent played really well, but Lenka stayed on point. Once she got in control of the match she really closed the door well.”
In the second session, Joelle Kissell defeated Alia Nour 6-0, 6-0, and Christy Sipes dropped Susita Das 6-1, 6-0 to preserve the Pack’s perfect record.
“Charleston Southern has as young and talented team and they showed a lot of skill today,” said Olsen. “I think that with a little more experience, it will translate to a lot of success for them down the road.”
Next week, NC State travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the ITA National Team Indoors featuring USC, Michigan, and Auburn. The Pack will compete Saturday, January 29 and Sunday, January 30 with matches lasting all day.
