NC State
#12 Virginia
#6 NC State Bests #12 Virginia in Thrilling Regular-Season Finale
4/11/2021 4:54:00 PM | Women's Tennis
RALEIGH – No. 6 NC State women's tennis rounded out its regular season with a gutsy performance as it defeated the visiting Virginia Cavaliers by a 4-3 score on Sunday afternoon at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
With the victory, NC State ends its regular season with a 16-4 overall record and a 10-3 mark in league matches. The Wolfpack and the Cavaliers entered Sunday's contest with matching ACC records, and the head-to-head matchup officially pushed NC State into third place in the league over the Cavaliers.
The Pack earned its first win over the Cavaliers in 13 years when it beat them 5-2 on the road in 2019, and Sunday's victory marked NC State's first home win over Virginia since that 2006 dual season.
It was the heroics of Lexi Keberle that secured NC State's team victory. After falling to Sofia Munera in last season's matchup with the Cavaliers, Keberle came out on top of this year's matchup with Munera with the team decision coming down to her court. Keberle faced a 1-3 deficit in the third set but won five of the last six games, including firing off five straight, to win 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 for the clincher.
The Wolfpack opened sharp in doubles action, with all three pairs going up a break early in their matches to put early pressure on the Cavaliers. All three Virginia pairs were nationally ranked, but the Pack accepted the challenge with ease. The doubles point proved to be the difference maker as the teams split the six singles courts.
Fifth-ranked Jaeda Daniel and Adriana Reami made quick work of Virginia's 29th-ranked Natasha Subhash and Sofia Munera, winning their match 6-1.
Wolfpack freshmen Abigail Rencheli and Amelia Rajecki followed suit with a 6-1 win of their own over No. 52 Amber O'Dell and Vivian Glozman. Rencheli and Rajecki's victory was their 10th straight as a duo, as they have not lost a match together since Feb. 26.
Rencheli carried momentum into singles action and quickly defeated O'Dell 6-1, 6-4, breaking the Cavalier junior on deciding point to end the match.
Virginia got on the board with a straight-sets win on court three, but NC State's Daniel almost immediately followed up with a straight-sets win of her own. She took down Habih Shaikh on court four with her 6-3, 6-3 victory putting the Pack a match away from the clinch.
Emma Navarro took the 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory in what was a top-six matchup with Anna Rogers on one, and Subhash overcame a third-set surge by Alana Smith 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to knot the team score. Keberle then gutted out the three setter on six to hand NC State the win.
The Wolfpack will now turn its attention to postseason competition which opens with the ACC Championships next week. The conference tournament is set to run April 21-25 in Rome, Ga.
RESULTS:
#6 NC State 4, #12 Virginia 3
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (2, 3)
1. #9 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NC State) vs. #41 Emma Navarro/Rosie Johanson (UVA) 4-4, unfinished
2. #5 Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (NC State) def. #29 Natasha Subhash/Sofia Munera (UVA) 6-1
3. Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (NC State) def. #52 Amber O'Dell/Vivian Glozman (UVA) 6-1
Singles Results
Order of finish: (5, 3, 4, 1, 2, 6)
1. #6 Emma Navarro (UVA) def. #5 Anna Rogers (NC State) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
2. #35 Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. #29 Alana Smith (NC State) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. #101 Rosie Johanson (UVA) def. #112 Adriana Reami (NC State) 6-4, 6-3
4. Jaeda Daniel (NC State) def. Hibah Shaikh (UVA) 6-3, 6-3
5. Abigail Rencheli (NC State) def. Amber O'Dell (UVA) 6-1, 6-4
6. Lexi Keberle (NC State) def. Sofia Munera (UVA) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
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Players Mentioned
