No. 9 Wolfpack Sweeps SMU to Open 2024 Slate

RALEIGH - No. 9 NC State Women's Tennis (1-0) opened its dual match season on Monday afternoon with a decisive 7-0 sweep of SMU (0-2).

The Pack took all seven of the afternoon's matches by winning the doubles point in the minimum two bouts while capturing five two-set wins out of six singles opportunities.

Head coach Simon Earnshaw now moves to 9-1 in opening season games during his tenure at NC State.

Doubles
The Wolfpack took both counted doubles matched by a 6-1 score, with the ninth-ranked pairing of Anna Zyryanova and Sophie Abrams topping SMU's Taylor Johnson and Lana Mavor, while No. 7 Amelia Rajecki and Maddy Zampardo clipped Caroline McGinley and Drew Morris. Gabriella Broadfoot and Abigail Rencheli held a 4-3 lead at the time Rejacki and Zampardo clinched, seeing their match go abandoned.

Singles
No. 19 Abrams got the Wolfpack moving in singles play after she opened the second portion of the match with a pair of 6-1 set wins, giving NC State an early 2-0 edge. Rajecki, who entered the day at third in the ITA singles rankings, put the Pack one point away from clinching by making quick work of Johnson, knocking off the Mustangs' one seed 6-4, 6-2.

No. 116 Zampardo inevitably clinched the match for the Wolfpack with a two-set win over Navor, taking a 6-3, 6-4, decision to give NC State a 4-0 lead and clinch its first win of the 2024 dual match season.

No. 27 Rencheli survived a strong showing from SMU's Morris, as the two split the first two sets and Rencheli won a 10-7 third-set tiebreaker. Gina Dittman later pushed the Wolfpack ahead 6-0, taking a two-set win over Maja Makoric at 6-2, 6-1.

The Pack's final match of the day came down to Kristina Paskauskas and the Mustangs' Milli Skeltone, with Paskauskas using a dominant second set to secure a 6-4, 6-X, win for the Wolfpack and clinch NC State's first sweep of the season.

Up Next
The Pack will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 20, for a double-header against a pair of in-state foes. NC State will face Campbell at 1 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. contest against North Carolina Central. Both matches will be held at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center with free admission offered to all fans.

Singles
#3 Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. Taylor Johnson (SMU) 6-4, 6-2
#27 Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Drew Morris (SMU) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7)
#116 Maddy Zampardo (ST) def. Lana Mavor (SMU) 6-3, 6-4
#19 Sophie Abrams (ST) def. Caroline Mcginley (SMU) 6-1, 6-1
Gina Dittmann (ST) def. Maja Makoric (SMU) 6-2, 6-4
Kristina Paskauskas (ST) def. Milli Skeltone (SMU) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles
#9 Anna Zyryanova/Sophie Abrams (ST) def. Taylor Johnson/Lana Mavor (SMU) 6-1
#7 Amelia Rajecki/Maddy Zampardo (ST) def. Caroline Mcginley/Drew Morris (SMU) 6-1
#52 Gabriella Broadfoot/Abigail Rencheli (ST) vs. Hadley Doyle/Maja Makoric (SMU) 4-3, unfinished

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Sophie Abrams

Gabriella Broadfoot

Gina Dittmann

Kristina Paskauskas

Amelia Rajecki

Abigail Rencheli

Maddy Zampardo

Anna Zyryanova