No. 8 NC State women’s tennis continued to struggle on the road, dropping its third-straight match away from Raleigh in a 4-3 upset loss to Syracuse in New York.

After road losses to Michigan and Oklahoma, the Wolfpack rebounded with four straight home victories that included wins against conference opponents like Wake Forest and Louisville. However, after getting back on the road, the Wolfpack (13-4 3-1 ACC) was shocked by the Orange (9-4, 3-3 ACC) after imploding in the late singles round.

In the end, Syracuse didn’t just beat the Wolfpack, it pulled off a stunning reverse sweep after being down 3-0.

NC State got out to its usual hot start in the doubles round, having designs on beating Syracuse for the fifth straight time. But even with the momentum from a 1-0 lead, the Orange stupefied the red-and-white with four singles wins — all of which were against the Pack’s best and most experienced players — to upset NC State at 4-3.

While the match ended up going down to the wire, the Wolfpack was hot to start off the contest. The No. 9 pair of senior Sophie Abrams and sophomore Anna Zyryanova blanked their opponents 6-0 for a loud start to the match. On court three, senior Abigail Rencheli and freshman Gabriella Broadfoot won 6-3 to earn the lead.

While Rencheli and Broadfoot earned the doubles point win, the Wolfpack’s third and final pair were also barrelling toward a win on court one. The No. 10 pair of senior Amelia Rajecki and freshman Maddy Zampardo were up 5-2 when play stopped.

With the entirety of NC State’s roster seemingly rolling from a strong doubles round, the Orange ambushed the Wolfpack in singles. Syracuse won three of six first sets, eventually defeating each NC State player on those courts.

However, the Wolfpack earned a 3-0 lead after singles wins on courts five and six from senior Gina Dittmann and Zampardo. Dittmann won 6-4, 6-1 on court five while Zampardo defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-3 on court six. Despite the routine 3-0 lead in hand, the rest of the match was anything but normal for the Wolfpack.

First, the Orange knocked off Abrams in three sets — just the first of Syracuse’s four three-set singles victories. The senior fell 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, getting the home side on the board for the first time all day.

Still only needing one win, the Wolfpack couldn’t get one from its best player, Rajecki, who was upset on court one in identical straight sets. Failing to win one of her two tiebreakers, Rajecki fell 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4).

Despite winning her first set, Zyryanova also fell in three sets, dropping her final two sets 6-4 each for a final decision of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

With the match flipped around and both team’s fates on the line, Syracuse’s Emilie Alde defeated Rencheli in a grueling 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 match to knock off the Pack.

NC State will look to turn around its road struggles in its next match — a showdown with Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. First serve against the Eagles is set for Sunday, March 17, at 10 a.m.