The No. 6 NC State women’s tennis team’s historic ITA National Team Indoor Championships run came to an end on Sunday afternoon as the Pack fell 4-1 to No. 2 UNC-Chapel Hill.

Down 3-1 late in the match, the Wolfpack (10-1) did not go down without a fight. The last three singles courts all came down to third set grudge matches, where the Tar Heels (10-0) eventually put the Pack’s hopes of a comeback to bed.

For the first time this season, the Wolfpack lost the doubles point, putting the Heels up 1-0 early. While graduate student Jaeda Daniel and senior Nell Miller won their doubles bout on court two 6-2, UNC was able to take courts one and three both by scores of 6-2.

Sophomore Abigail Rencheli was the lone member of the Wolfpack to secure a win in the semifinal round, with a score of 6-3, 6-2. 

Near the end of the singles round, the Wolfpack needed all three of the remaining singles matches to make a comeback victory. While all three courts fought, including sophomore Amelia Rajecki who was down 5-2 in her third set, the Pack could not complete the comeback. While fighting back to even the third set at 5-5, Rajecki eventually lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-5. 

Miller and Daniel’s matches were stopped in their third sets as they both tried to string together their wins to complete a comeback. However, their matches were cut short as the Heels clinched the win.

Other singles courts for the Pack included freshman Priska Nugroho and sophomore Sophie Abrams who lost early on in the singles round. 

Despite this loss, the Pack made history in its ITA tournament run and looks solid heading into the rest of its schedule.

The Wolfpack look to rebound on Friday, February 18, as they travel to Kansas to take on the Jayhawks. The match starts at 6 pm.