Coming off wins against Texas Tech and Abilene Christian in Lubbock, Texas last Saturday, the No. 5 NC State women’s tennis team is going on the road once again, this time to start its ACC schedule against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Louisville Cardinals. After a 13-2 record to begin the season, the best start in school history, the Wolfpack will need to show its mettle and prove why it’s a top-five team in the country in order to start its conference schedule on the right foot and keep the good times rolling.
If recent history is anything to go by, the Pack’s matchup with the Fighting Irish may be a barn burner. Although NC State has beaten Notre Dame the last four years, the three matches from 2016 to 2018 were all decided by a score of 4-3. Regardless of how talented the Wolfpack is, it’ll need to play hard — and maybe get a little lucky — if it wants to beat the Irish.
Just like with its recent history against the Irish, the Wolfpack has shown similar dominance over the Cardinals as of late, winning its last five matches over them in the last four years. But unlike its games against Notre Dame, NC State has had a relatively easier time against Louisville. The closest the Cardinals have come to being competitive in that span against the Wolfpack came in a pair of 5-2 defeats came in March of 2016 and April of 2017. In fact, the only other time the Cardinals have scored a point against the Wolfpack in the past four years was in their last matchup in March 2019, a 6-1 drubbing. With that being said, maintaining a top-five ranking for NC State will require not overlooking Louisville, who will be hungry to reverse its fortunes against a team it has recently struggled against.
NC State boasts two of the top duos in the country, with senior Anna Rogers and sophomore Alana Smith grabbing the top spot in Division I. Not to be outdone, junior Jaeda Daniel and senior Adriana Reami can more than hold their own against any duo and are ranked No. 14 in the country. Not surprisingly, Rogers, Smith, Daniel and Reami are among the best singles players in the country, with Smith, Rogers and Reami ranked in the top 50 – though Reami recently lost her singles match against Texas Tech in a tough three-set defeat. Daniel has also displayed signs of her singles’ prowess, winning all her singles matches this season until she too fell to Texas Tech, this time in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. Reami and Daniel will look to get back to their winning ways, while Rogers and Smith will try to continue their dominance over the rest of the ACC.
The Wolfpack will play Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 22nd at 12 p.m. The next day, the Pack will travel down to Louisville, Kentucky to play the Cardinals at 12 p.m.
