Last court on, a deciding third set, multiple comebacks and enough stomach-swirling moments to last the rest of the season.
What more could you want from a college tennis match? And what more could you expect from a NC State women’s tennis win over UNC-Chapel Hill?
After a saga of heated, dramatic matches over the past two seasons, the two titans of college tennis added another chapter in the history of their rivalry with a 4-3 thriller inside the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh. For the second match in a row against the Heels (13-3, 6-1 ACC), the Wolfpack (15-4, 5-1 ACC) upset its higher-ranked Tobacco Road rivals in heart-stopping fashion.
“Seems like, for whatever reason, when these two teams play right now, it’s kind of a barnburner,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “I mean I think that’s good for the sport; it can’t hurt, and it’s a great experience for the girls.”
Just over one month ago, NC State downed the then-No. 1 Tar Heels at the ITA Indoor Championship quarterfinals thanks to a daring performance in the last match on from sophomore Anna Zyryanova. This time, in Raleigh, freshman Maddy Zampardo played the hero, toppling fellow freshman Tatum Evans in three grueling sets.
While Zampardo nonchalantly raced through her first set 6-1, she played her final two sets with the match in the balance at 3-3. With all eyes on her and Evans, the two freshmen went blow for blow for the last hour and a half of the five-hour thriller.
Waves of cheers from the two sets of fans that filled the bleachers of the Wolfpack’s indoor facility followed each and every point. While Zampardo dropped her second set, she delivered in the third and final set, using her long frame to cover all angles of the court and deep shots and strong serves to combat Evans.
At the end of the third set, Zampardo finished off her win with an ace, immediately embracing her team in her first ever match-winning victory in the last court on. Her first of many of those wins was something Zampardo’s been dreaming about since she was a kid, and it was made that much sweeter after coming against Carolina.
“I’ve never felt that feeling before,” Zampardo said. “But I’ve watched it ever since I was a little — college tennis people being in that position — I didn’t quite know what it felt like ‘til today. But I just wanted to just keep going for it no matter what, have the least regrets possible and just do it for my team. I wanted our team to beat UNC. I wanted us to just fight through this together.”
While Zampardo emptied the tank against Evans in her 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory, the rest of her team did their parts in erasing both an early 2-0 deficit and a late 3-2 deficit. Zyryanova played a pivotal role in getting the Pack and Zampardo into clinch position.
Needing wins from both No. 43 Zyryanova and Zampardo to win the match, the Wolfpack’s hopes were kept alive after the sophomore fought off two match points deep into her second set after dropping her first. Zyryanova courageously took the second set from UNC’s No. 49 Reilly Tran and won her final set in clutch fashion.
After Zyryanova’s 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory, Zampardo held up her end of the bargain. Fully embracing the Wolfpack’s underdog mindset, she downed Evans on court six to upset the Tar Heels.
“It means a lot to win [against UNC] because we’re the underdogs,” Zampardo said. “No one expects us to win. Everyone probably wants UNC to win.”
Hours earlier, UNC earned an early advantage by toppling the Wolfpack in the doubles round. Despite NC State’s No. 13 pair of senior Amelia Rajecki and Zampardo toppling Carolina’s Elizabeth Scotty and Tatum Evans 6-3, the Heels took courts one and two shortly after.
Even with the No. 10 pair of Zyryanova and senior Sophie Abrams battling back from a 3-0 deficit in their doubles match, UNC’s No. 17 pair of Fiona Crawley and Carson Tanguilig tied the round at one match apiece.
With Carolina’s No. 19 pair of Reilly Tran and Abby Forbes holding a commanding 5-2 lead on court three over senior Abigail Rencheli and freshman Gabriella Broadfoot, the Tar Heels eventually captured the 1-0 lead with a round-deciding, 6-3 win on court three.
UNC doubled its lead shortly after with a succinct 6-0, 6-2 win over Rencheli from Scotty on court two. With Scotty dominating on court two and UNC gaining early leads on nearly every singles court, it looked as though the Tar Heels could have run back to Chapel Hill with a dominant win.
However, Rajecki put a stop to the Heels’ momentum with an impressive win over No. 22 Crawley on court one. Having already beaten her at the ITAs earlier this season, Rajecki had her way with Crawley once again, beating her 6-4, 7-5 to put NC State on the board.
From there, senior Gina Dittmann evened the odds with a three-set victory over UNC’s No. 37 Carson Tanguilig. Having a surprising amount of trouble with three-set matches and an even more surprising record of 0-11 in those matches before tonight, Dittmann, Zyryanova and Zampardo rectified the Pack’s poor track record in its past few matches.
For Earnshaw, beating the Tar Heels by taking three out of three three-setters was a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t mean the Wolfpack’s home free yet. Even still, the win against the Tar Heels was an encouraging sight for everyone in the building.
“I feel like this doesn’t mean that everything’s fixed,” Earnshaw said. “We still need to come out, we need to really play hard — we’re a blue collar team. And you know, I think if we can do that, then maybe we can start, you know, moving forward again. But no, I mean, anytime we beat UNC, it’s particularly significant.”
While Carolina downed Abrams in two sets, Zyryanova and Zampardo pulled through, sending the Heels and their fans back from Raleigh empty handed.
With its second win of the season over UNC in the books, NC State turns to the second leg of its rivalry weekend. The Wolfpack’s set to square off against Duke on Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. in Raleigh.
