No. 12 NC State women’s tennis began its 2025 ACC Tournament with a routine 4-1 win over No. 25 Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round of the annual championship event.
The No. 3-seed, NC State made quick work of the No. 6-seeded Fighting Irish in singles after besting them in a close doubles round. The ACC Tournament win in Cary over Notre Dame marks the Pack’s second victory against the Fighting Irish this season.
“I think there was a lot of looking around and scoreboard watching today,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “It’s so hard to keep them present and focused on the task. Look, Notre Dame gives us a lot of problems, the coaching staff there does a good job. They’re very aggressive, and we always seem to come out on top.”
NC State started off strong by taking the doubles point. Two lopsided 6-1 results — one of which came from NC State’s freshman Jasmine Conway and junior Anna Zyryanova — left the round in the hands of No. 8 pair of sophomores Maddy Zampardo and Gabriella Broadfoot.
While the previously-No. 3 pair in the nation has struggled as of late, Zampardo and Broadfoot pulled away from their opponents to decide the round via a 6-4 victory on Court 1.
“I know we both have the ability,” Zampardo said. “I mean, we’ve seen it and we play really well together. It just comes down to doubles being one set — things can change very quickly. No ad, one set and so [we’re] just kind of really focusing on what has given us success, and continuing to do that.”
No. 118 freshman Mia Slama doubled the Pack’s lead come singles via a quick 6-3, 6-2 win on Court 5. Notre Dame fought back, earning a ranked win over No. 45 Zyryanova from No. 65 Akari Matsuno in a 6-4, 6-4 result.
From there NC State won two straight courts to win the match. No. 81 Zampardo first took Court 2 in a 6-4, 6-4 win while No. 89 freshman Gabia Paskauskas won 6-2, 6-4 on Court 6 to clinch the Pack’s quarterfinal win.
The win over Notre Dame marks the team’s third-straight year of making at least the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament. The past conference tournaments have ended with matches against UNC-Chapel Hill — 2023’s ended in a historic ACC Championship Final win over the Heels while 2024’s run was cut short in the semifinals in a revenge win from Carolina.
Now, the Wolfpack will face the rival Tar Heels for a third-straight season in the ACC Tournament, seeking revenge for its semifinal loss from last season and an earlier loss to the Heels in Chapel Hill this season.
“I don’t think it was unexpected we were gonna play at UNC, so I think we’re gonna do really well,” Zampardo said. “We’ve been fighting really hard this season. We’re just gonna fight, give our best, see how it goes.”
An important chapter of NC State and UNC’s epic history has taken place at Cary Tennis Park. For at least one more time, the Pack and Heels will throw down in a storied venue with an undoubtedly fiery drove of fans supporting each side.
“We know we have a battle, and we’re gonna have to play well,” Earnshaw said. “And I think we also know that if we play well, then it doesn’t matter who we play against. So hopefully we can kind of be in that moment and get after them.”
It’s NC State and UNC once again. First serve is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday in Cary.
