The No. 3 NC State women’s tennis was defeated in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championships, falling 4-2 to the No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers on Friday, April 22.
In a clash of two top-10 nationally ranked teams, NC State battled with the Cavaliers in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championship weeks after Virginia handed the Pack its third loss of the regular season. With five three-set singles matches, every game, set and match were contested between the two sides. Ultimately, the Cavaliers got the better of NC State by winning the majority of the singles matches, ending the Pack’s hopes for a deep run into the championship.
NC State started the day off strong by winning the doubles round. No. 2 graduate student Jaeda Daniel and senior Nell Miller took court one 6-3, while sophomore Sophie Abrams and freshman Priska Nugroho claimed a commanding 6-1 win on court three to put the Pack up 1-0.
After a promising start in the doubles round, NC State would only add one more point to its total with No. 40 sophomore Abigail Rencheli’s win on court two. Rencheli beat her ranked opponent 6-4, 6-3 and gave NC State a 2-0 lead, but Virginia would go on to win four straight singles matches, earning a berth in the semifinal round.
While the Cavaliers won the remaining singles courts, NC State didn’t go down without a fight. Rencheli’s match was the only match to end in a straight set victory while all other courts included three-set battles.
Virginia first added to its total with a win on court one where the No. 1-ranked sophomore Emma Navarro took down the Pack’s No. 11 Daniel. The two ranked heavyweights split the first two sets, each winning 6-3. However, Navarro defended her No. 1 rank, sweeping Daniel in the final set.
The next match to conclude was on court six where Abrams was defeated by her Virginia opponent in three sets after splitting the first two. She was followed by sophomore Amelia Rajecki’s defeat on court five where the sophomore was swept in her third set.
To end the day, Virginia claimed victory in three sets on court three over No. 66 Nugroho and ended the Pack’s bid for a deep run in the ACC Championship. Miller’s match on court four was left unfinished due to the clinch.
NC State fought for every point tooth and nail, while extending five of six singles matches to third sets. Despite the impressive levels of fight however, the Pack lost four straight matches, all of which went to third sets.
Going forward, the Pack will look to continue its stellar season in the NCAA tournament, where it is likely that NC State will host a match at some point in the tournament which is set to start in May.
