NC State Set to Face Duke in NCAA Championships Sweet 16 Friday

Friday, May 10

Durham, N.C.

6 PM

NC State

#5 Duke

NC State Set to Face Duke in NCAA Championships Sweet 16 Friday

5/8/2019 8:26:00 AM | Women's Tennis

The Pack Will Make the Program's First Sweet 16 Appearance

RALEIGH – The No. 12 NC State women's tennis team matches up against No. 5 Duke in the program's first NCAA Championships Sweet 16 appearance on Friday, May 10 at 6 p.m. The match will be held at Ambler Tennis Stadium on Duke's Campus.

The winner of Friday's contest advances to the Elite 8 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

#5 Duke (25-3) vs. #12 NC State (24-6)
Date: Friday, May 10
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Ambler Tennis Stadium – Durham, N.C.
Admission: Youth/senior $3, Adult $5
Live stats: Accessible here
Social media: @PackWTennis

THE PACK'S TRACK
NC State's selection to the 2019 NCAA Championships marked its fourth-straight championships berth, the longest streak in school history, and its 10th overall.

As a top-16 seed, NC State earned the right to host for the first time in program history, facing VCU in the first round. Defeating the Rams 4-1, the team advanced to the second round for the fourth time in school history and for the second time under head coach Simon Earnshaw.

Tennessee defeated Furman earlier in the day to set up the top-20 matchup between the No. 12 Pack and No. 20 Vols.

Sweeping Tennessee 4-0, the squad punched the program's first Sweet 16 ticket.

HISTORIC SEASON
The 2019 campaign has been one of the best in program history. The team has broken the program records for number of total wins and number of ACC wins. To top it off, the team continued to climb the rankings, setting multiple program bests in the category before reaching the highest ranking in Pack women's tennis history at No. 9.

Handing Florida its fourth home loss in 20 years at the time, the Pack advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the first time as a program.

Defeating Miami (Fla.) 6-1, NC State stormed past the Hurricanes for the first time in school history, as Anna Rogers defeated second-ranked Estela Perez-Somarriba in three sets. The squad also defeated Georgia Tech for the first time since 1998.

Individually, Amanda Rebol broke the school record, eclipsing Joelle Kissell's previous mark of 87 career singles wins. Teammate Rogers earned the highest Oracle/ITA Division I singles ranking, checking in at No.
8.

Rogers and Alana Smith recently tied the program's highest doubles ranking at No. 7.

Friday's match marks the first time the program has reached the Sweet 16. A win on Friday would advance the squad to the Elite 8.

NOTABLES:
PACK AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
NC State holds an 11-5 record against ranked opponents this season, including a 6-5 record against top-25 opponents. The Pack has outscored ranked opponents 64-43 in the 2019 campaign.

(ACC)OLADES
Earnshaw was named ACC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year and is only the second coach to do so at NC State (Jenny Garrity, 1998). For the third consecutive year, NC State had two players named to the all-conference team.

Rogers earned first-team status, the first for the program (since teams began to be distinguished in 2014). Smith earned second-team status, the first freshman to do so for the Pack since Rogers accomplished the feat in 2017.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS INDIVIDUAL SELECTIONS
Rogers and Smith will represent NC State at the 2019 NCAA Women's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships as the duo received at-large bids to compete in the doubles draw and Rogers also earned a selection to the singles draw.

Based on the seeding of the tournament, Rogers and Smith will become the first All-Americans in program history.

NC State has competed in singles and doubles in the same season only once before 2019, as Sanaa Bhambri qualified in singles and was joined in the doubles draw by Sandhya Nagaraj (2011).

PACK IN THE RANKINGS
NC State maintained its No. 12 ranking in the latest edition of the Oracle/ITA Division I Rankings.

In doubles, Rogers and Smith are the seventh-ranked duo, tying Rogers and Claudia Wiktorin and Bhambri and Nagaraj for the highest doubles ranking in program history.

Rogers checks in at No. 10 in the rankings, and teammate Smith is ranked No. 71.

PACK AGAINST THE FIELD
NC State faced 15 of the 64 teams in the field over the course of the season, posting a 10-6 record in the category.

Of the 16 teams remaining, NC State has faced four of those teams (Duke, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington).

30 WINS CLUB
Four members of the Pack squad boast at least 30 singles wins: Adriana Reami, Rebol, Rogers, and Smith.

PACK AND THE DOUBLES POINT
NC State is 18-2 when taking the doubles point. When dropping the doubles point, the Pack holds an impressive 6-3 record.

Court one is a crucial match-maker for NC State, as the squad is 19-3 when court one contributes a victory in doubles. When court one drops its match the Pack is 2-2.

Rogers and Smith picked up their third top-10 doubles win of the 2019 campaign over the weekend, defeating Tennessee's ninth-ranked duo to capture the doubles point 6-4.

NC State has taken the past four doubles point.

PACK IN 4-3 DECISIONS
The team's experience-led squad has proved to be a major factor this season in 4-3 matches.

The Pack holds a 4-2 record in 4-3 decisions this season, a major improvement from the 2018 team's 6-6 record.

All four of those victories have been clinched by upperclassmen: Rogers (Florida), Reami (Texas Tech, Georgia Tech), and Rebol (Winthrop).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Duke (25-3)
For the Blue Devils, three singles players are ranked: No. 11 Maria Mateas, No. 21 Kelly Chen, and No. 33 Meible Chi.

In doubles, Duke features three players: No. 18 Kaitlyn McCarthy/Ellyse Hamlin, No. 24 Chi/McCarthy, No. 47 Hamlin/Chen.

Five members of the Blue Devils' squad were selected to participate in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships (singles – Chen, Chi, Mateas; doubles –Hamlin and McCarthy).

NC State lost the matchup earlier in the season, 5-2.

#GoPack | @PackWTennis