NC State
NCAA Singles/Doubles Tournament
Rogers and Smith End Season in Doubles Semifinal Match
5/27/2021 5:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LAKE NONA, Fla. – Anna Rogers and Alana Smith wrapped up a historic three weeks of postseason action for the NC State women's tennis team, coming up short to fourth-ranked Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty of UNC in the 2021 NCAA Doubles Championships semifinal match on Thursday.
The 12th-ranked Wolfpack pair battled but ultimately fell by a 6-3, 6-4 score after becoming the first doubles team in program history to advance to the national semifinal.
It marked the end of another impressive season for Rogers and Smith, who completed their year with a 26-10 record. Ten of their doubles wins on the year were against nationally-ranked opponents, with their highest ranked victories coming against two of the nation's No. 6 pairs.
Rogers leaves NC State as the winningest doubles player in ACC history (157 career wins), and Smith is ranked third in program history (91 career wins). In three seasons playing together, the pair has posted an 89-21 (.809) overall record.
The first three games of Thursday's semifinal matchup went to the deuce point, which set the tone for what was a competitive battle between ACC opponents. In total, four of the match's nine games came down to a deciding point.
UNC gained momentum with a break to take a 4-3 lead and went on to win the final three games of the first set. Rogers and Smith also faced a multi-game deficit in the second set but fought to get back on serve. The Tar Heels, however, then broke NC State's last two service games to close out the match.
The NCAA Doubles Championships performance by Rogers and Smith wraps up what was a groundbreaking season for the NC State women's tennis team. In addition to Rogers and Smith, Adriana Reami and Jaeda Daniel were also named doubles All-Americans, the most honorees for the program in a single season.
Their individual performances came after the Pack's deepest postseason team run during which it reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. NC State finished a program-best No. 6 in the final national rankings after advancing past the Round of 16 for the first time. The team ended the year 20-6, with those 20 victories ranking as the second-most in a single season in program history.
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