Saturday, January 28
Malibu, Calif.
2 p.m. PT
NC State
4
vs
3
Arkansas
Wolfpack Tennis Downs Arkansas at ITA Kick-Off Weekend
1/28/2017 9:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis
NC State advances to championships
MALIBU, Calif. – Despite windy conditions, the NC State women's tennis team battled to a 4-3 win over Arkansas on Saturday at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament. The match was a fight from start to finish and was tied up at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3.
The Wolfpack got off to a hot start, taking the doubles point for a 1-0 lead in the match. The NC State duo of Martina Frantova and Anna Rogers were first to finish, beating Arkansas' Hudson and Jeanjean, 6-3. Bianca Moldovan and Claudia Wiktorin fired off another 6-3 win to clinch the doubles point.
Arkansas' Arakawa found the first singles win in #5 singles, beating Moldovan 7-5, 6-2 to tie the match, 1-1. Shortly after, sophomore Amanda Rebol downed her opponent in #6 singles, earning a 6-4, 6-3 win over Arkansas' Cepelyte to take back the lead, 2-1. NC State's Rogers fell to Arkansas' Jurasic, 2-6, 6-7(7) to tie the match back up at 2-2.
From there, Arkansas took its only lead of the night after Jeanjean defeated the Wolfpack's Adriana Reami in a three-setter, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.
No. 36 Frantova took #1 singles, beating Arkansas' Oparenovic, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-5, to tie the match up once again, 3-3.
Wiktorin found the deciding point in a three-set battle against Arkansas' Hudson. Both the first and second set were sent into a tiebreaker, but Wiktorin ultimately prevailed in the third set to win the match, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Simon Says
"Well another season and straight into another dramatic match right from the get go! I think both teams played hard and did what they could. The conditions were extremely challenging, we started in relatively good conditions and the end was played in quite cool blustery winds. It's early in the season and our best tennis is still ahead of us. We managed to come through some really tight moments on a couple of courts and that got us through. I'd like to say the doubles point was the difference and that's very important for us but ultimately Martina and Claudia pulled this one out when we had our backs to the wall. It's funny because Martina had three matches points in the second set reminiscent of her first match this past Fall, however she hung in there, played very tough points on both of Oparenovic's match points. Happy for her as a senior to see her get that match and give Claudia the opportunity to play a deciding point. Claudia's made a ton of progress since last year and I've got a lot of faith in her and what's she capable of. She was close to making a break-through this Fall on a couple of occasions and this was the perfect moment for it to happen. Proud of our effort all round today and looking forward to tomorrows match with Pepperdine. Go Pack!!!"
Up Next
The Wolfpack will take on No. 3 Pepperdine Sunday in the championship match. Play is set to begin at 4 P.M. E.T. The winner of the match will be invited to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 10-13 hosted by Yale University.
Follow Along
Live results will be available at http://www.pepperdinewaves.com/sports/w-tennis/ITAKickOff17wt.html
RESULTS:
NC STATE 4, ARKANSAS 3
Doubles
1. Frantova/Rogers (NC State) def. Hudson/Jeanjean (Arkansas) - 6-3
2. Moldovan/Wiktorin (NC State) def. Oparenovic/Jurasic (Arkansas) - 6-3
3. Rebol/Stenta (NC State) vs. Cepelyte/Arakawa (Arkansas) - 3-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2
Singles:
1. Frantova (NC State) def. Oparenovic (Arkansas) - 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-5
2. Wiktorin (NC State) def. Hudson (Arkansas) - 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-4
3. Jeanjean (Arkansas) def. Reami (NC State) - 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Jurasic (Arkansas) def. Rogers (NC State) - 6-2, 7-6 (7)
5. Arakawa (Arkansas) def. Moldovan (NC State) - 7-5, 6-2
6. Rebol (NC State) def. Cepelyte (Arkansas) - 6-4, 6-3
Order of finsh: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State women's tennis:
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
The Wolfpack got off to a hot start, taking the doubles point for a 1-0 lead in the match. The NC State duo of Martina Frantova and Anna Rogers were first to finish, beating Arkansas' Hudson and Jeanjean, 6-3. Bianca Moldovan and Claudia Wiktorin fired off another 6-3 win to clinch the doubles point.
Arkansas' Arakawa found the first singles win in #5 singles, beating Moldovan 7-5, 6-2 to tie the match, 1-1. Shortly after, sophomore Amanda Rebol downed her opponent in #6 singles, earning a 6-4, 6-3 win over Arkansas' Cepelyte to take back the lead, 2-1. NC State's Rogers fell to Arkansas' Jurasic, 2-6, 6-7(7) to tie the match back up at 2-2.
From there, Arkansas took its only lead of the night after Jeanjean defeated the Wolfpack's Adriana Reami in a three-setter, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6.
No. 36 Frantova took #1 singles, beating Arkansas' Oparenovic, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-5, to tie the match up once again, 3-3.
Wiktorin found the deciding point in a three-set battle against Arkansas' Hudson. Both the first and second set were sent into a tiebreaker, but Wiktorin ultimately prevailed in the third set to win the match, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Claudia deciding point to clinch the win 4-3 vs Arkansas at 6-4 in the third #GoPack pic.twitter.com/A56TL2FRrY
— Simon Earnshaw (@CoachEarnshaw) January 29, 2017
Simon Says
"Well another season and straight into another dramatic match right from the get go! I think both teams played hard and did what they could. The conditions were extremely challenging, we started in relatively good conditions and the end was played in quite cool blustery winds. It's early in the season and our best tennis is still ahead of us. We managed to come through some really tight moments on a couple of courts and that got us through. I'd like to say the doubles point was the difference and that's very important for us but ultimately Martina and Claudia pulled this one out when we had our backs to the wall. It's funny because Martina had three matches points in the second set reminiscent of her first match this past Fall, however she hung in there, played very tough points on both of Oparenovic's match points. Happy for her as a senior to see her get that match and give Claudia the opportunity to play a deciding point. Claudia's made a ton of progress since last year and I've got a lot of faith in her and what's she capable of. She was close to making a break-through this Fall on a couple of occasions and this was the perfect moment for it to happen. Proud of our effort all round today and looking forward to tomorrows match with Pepperdine. Go Pack!!!"
Up Next
The Wolfpack will take on No. 3 Pepperdine Sunday in the championship match. Play is set to begin at 4 P.M. E.T. The winner of the match will be invited to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 10-13 hosted by Yale University.
Follow Along
Live results will be available at http://www.pepperdinewaves.com/sports/w-tennis/ITAKickOff17wt.html
RESULTS:
NC STATE 4, ARKANSAS 3
Doubles
1. Frantova/Rogers (NC State) def. Hudson/Jeanjean (Arkansas) - 6-3
2. Moldovan/Wiktorin (NC State) def. Oparenovic/Jurasic (Arkansas) - 6-3
3. Rebol/Stenta (NC State) vs. Cepelyte/Arakawa (Arkansas) - 3-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 1,2
Singles:
1. Frantova (NC State) def. Oparenovic (Arkansas) - 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-5
2. Wiktorin (NC State) def. Hudson (Arkansas) - 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2), 6-4
3. Jeanjean (Arkansas) def. Reami (NC State) - 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Jurasic (Arkansas) def. Rogers (NC State) - 6-2, 7-6 (7)
5. Arakawa (Arkansas) def. Moldovan (NC State) - 7-5, 6-2
6. Rebol (NC State) def. Cepelyte (Arkansas) - 6-4, 6-3
Order of finsh: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2
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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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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