With No. 4 NC State women’s tennis’ dominant 4-0 win over South Carolina State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Championships, the Wolfpack’s quest for a national championship title is officially underway.
Coming off perhaps its biggest win in program history — a stunning 4-1 win over No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill for its first ACC Championship title — NC State kept the momentum rolling in the first round of the NCAA tournament against South Carolina State. In fact, the Bulldogs (12-8) didn’t stand a chance against the Wolfpack (24-4), as NC State has its sights set on winning the first national championship in program history.
NC State dominated the match from beginning to end, claiming two sweeping 6-0 victories in doubles and three lightning-fast singles victories with minimal losses to earn the 4-0 sweep.
“The team played very well,” said junior Gina Dittmann. “I mean, the double point obviously looked really good, we had a great start in singles. And I think everyone played well in singles and yeah, it’s a great start for the NCAA tournament.”
The doubles round was over almost as soon as it started thanks to crushing victories on courts two and three from the red-and-white. Even though the Bulldogs gave the No. 4 pair of graduate student Alana Smith and freshman Diana Shnaider trouble on one, the Pack’s other pairs had their backs. Both juniors Sophie Abrams and Abigail Rencheli and No. 9 junior Amelia Rajecki and fifth-year senior Nell Miller won 6-0, granting NC State a 1-0 lead.
Singles went just as smoothly as doubles did for the Wolfpack. Dittmann, No. 7 Shnaider and No. 13 Smith raced through each of their respective first sets, and all kept their foot on the gas through their second sets to secure the three singles wins the Pack needed to clinch at 4-0. Additionally, each only lost one game in each of their matches, with Dittmann and Smith earning 6-1, 6-0 wins on courts six and two, while Shnaider won 6-0, 6-1 on court one.
No. 87 Rencheli and Abrams were both battling through their second sets after winning their firsts when play was stopped, while Rajecki fought through her second after losing her first.
The Pack’s victory against the Bulldogs was straightforward, but any further victories will be much more hard-earned. A win over the Kansas Jayhawks would just be the next step in the Pack’s journey to an NCAA Championship, which NC State has had its eyes on all season long.
“[NCAA Championship] is definitely the goal,” Dittmann said. “…So obviously everybody is excited to do that. I think we had a really good schedule this year, and we all worked hard this semester and last year. So yeah, we’re ready, and hopefully we’re going to do well.”
All that hard work paid off with the Pack’s victory over the No. 1 Heels in the ACC Championship — a win that checked off two of the red-and-white’s major program goals. Now, there’s only one bucket list item remaining: a national championship title.
“There’s one match we haven’t played in, and that’s the match we’re seeking,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “The rest of it… we’ve kind of been there, done that.”
The Wolfpack’s next match of the tournament is set for Saturday, May 6 at 4 p.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh. Follow along on twitter @techsports for live coverage of the match.
