No. 12 NC State women’s tennis closed out its 2024 regular season with back-to-back wins against No. 24 Georgia Tech and Clemson while on the road.
Ahead of its return to the Triangle for the ACC Championships in Cary, North Carolina, the Wolfpack took a trip to Georgia and South Carolina to face the Yellow Jackets (13-8, 9-4 ACC) and Tigers (11-12, 2-10 ACC). NC State earned a ranked, 5-2 win at Georgia Tech while downing the Tigers 6-1 to finish its regular season with a 19-7 overall record and a conference record of 9-4.
At Georgia Tech, 5-2
Despite dropping the early doubles point in a heated round, the Wolfpack went on a run and won five singles matches in a row against an experienced Yellow Jacket team in Atlanta.
While the No. 10 pair of senior Amelia Rajecki and freshman Maddy Zampardo won 7-5 on court one, Georgia Tech downed the Pack’s other pairs on courts two and three. The No. 17 pair of sophomore Anna Zyryanova and senior Sophie Abrams fell 7-5 while senior Abigail Rencheli and freshman Gabriella Broadfoot fell via tiebreak in the deciding doubles match. With the 7-6 (7-4) win on court three, the hosts took a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
Singles went much smoother for NC State. With a rare zero three-set matches on the day, the Pack sat down player after player on almost every court in two sets.
No. 5 Rajecki got the party started on court one with a ranked win over another one of the ACC’s best in No. 60 Carol Lee. Rajecki’s 6-1, 6-4 victory got the Wolfpack on the board and even with the hosts at 1-1.
Abrams then took court six in two sets, albeit close ones. The senior took her court 7-5, 6-4 while No. 53 Zyryanova won 7-5, 6-1 on court three to quickly put NC State into a clinch position at 3-1.
No. 69 Rencheli defeated Georgia Tech’s Kylie Bilchev 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the Pack’s ranked win and Zampardo notched her team’s final win of the day with a 6-3, 7-5 rout on court five. Georgia Tech earned its only singles point at the end of the match with a 7-6 (7-5), 5-7 win over senior Gina Dittmann on court four.
At Clemson, 6-1
NC State got back to its usual doubles prowess when it got to its regular season finale against Clemson. After taking the early round, NC State once again won five of six singles matches, even if they took more work than against Georgia Tech.
Rajecki and Zampardo earned their second doubles win of the weekend after opening the Pack’s match with the Tigers with a 6-1 win on court one. Zyryanova and Abrams followed their win up with a more-contested 7-5 victory that quickly granted the red-and-white a 1-0 lead.
Zyryanova followed her doubles win with a perfect, 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Clemson’s Daniella Medvedeva on court three. After Zyryanova’s 12-game win, Rajecki continued her play from the weekend’s earlier match with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court one.
Up 3-0 and ready to clinch, Zampardo iced the Pack’s final win of the 2024 regular season with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court four.
The final three matches of the day all came in three sets, and Clemson got its first and only win of the afternoon with a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5) win over Dittmann on court five.
NC State claimed the final two points of the day with Abrams and Rencheli finishing off their three-set wins via super breakers on courts six and two, respectively. Abrams won 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 1-0 (10-9) while Rencheli downed her opponent 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8).
The Wolfpack will now turn its attention to Cary and the ACC Championship where it claimed its first-ever conference title in last season’s tournament. The Wolfpack will play on Friday, April 19 against either Georgia Tech, Clemson or Boston College.
