After a three-match slide, No. 19 NC State women’s tennis bounced back with a 5-0 win at SMU on Sunday.
Two of the Pack’s losses during its three-match losing streak came against ranked opponents, No. 17 Ohio State and No. 11 Texas.
However, to close out its extended road trip, NC State rebounded with a sweep in Dallas over the Mustangs (3-4). The Wolfpack (3-3) took the doubles round, winning two of three matches, and won four singles matches before the match concluded.
NC State took the doubles round thanks to continued success from its talented doubles lineup. While the No. 60 pair of sophomores Jasmine Conway and Kristina Paskauskas fell on court 3 7-5, the Pack claimed wins on courts 1 and 2 to take the point.
To do so, the No. 5 pair of sophomores Gabriella Broadfoot and Maddy Zampardo narrowly defeated their Mustang opponents via a tiebreaker on court 1. Broadfoot and Zampardo took down SMU’s June Bjork and Caroline McGinley 7-6 (7-5) while junior Anna Zyryanova and freshman Mia Slama also took extra games to win their match. Their 7-5 win on court 2 earned NC State a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
Zampardo followed up her doubles win with a victory in the singles round over SMU’s Ellie Pittman. Zampardo’s 6-3, 6-3 win doubled her team’s lead at 2-0.
The Pack’s scintillating singles round continued with a Zyryanova win, who won 6-4, 6-3 on court 1 to put the red-and-white into clinch position.
NC State secured another two-set singles win with a Broadfoot victory over the Mustangs’ Arianna Stavropoulos. Broadfoot’s 7-5, 6-4 win claimed the Pack’s match win in Dallas.
Paskauskas played out the rest of her match despite the Pack clinching the result at 4-0 thanks to Broadfoot’s win. Paskauskas won her match in a two-set result where she beat her opponent 6-3, 6-3.
Both Slama and Conway’s matches were left unfinished where both were leading their opponents in their respective matches.
NC State will return home next weekend for the first time since Jan. 19 for a match against Old Dominion on Saturday before hosting Michigan on Friday, Feb. 14.
Play against Old Dominion is set to start on Saturday at 1 p.m.
