The NC State baseball team will tell you firsthand that there’s never a shortage of drama when the Wolfpack faces off against Vanderbilt. And it was no different in the NC State women’s tennis team’s match against the Commodores.
This time, it was in a knockdown, dragout match that went down with the wire, but the contest still ended in Vanderbilt getting the better of the red-and-white.
The Wolfpack (2-1) started its second match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend strong, winning the doubles point and the first singles match with relative ease to gain a 2-0 lead. Things ramped up from there, however, with the visiting Commodores (3-0) fighting tooth and nail for the remaining courts. Despite some heroic efforts from the Wolfpack, that determined effort ultimately paid off, allowing Vanderbilt to win four of the next five matches to claim the 4-3 win.
When the dust settled, Vanderbilt won three out of the four three-set singles matches on the day. In nearly every one of those matches, NC State found itself down early in the first sets, making it all the more difficult for the red-and-white to defeat its opponents.
“We just didn’t make great starts in the first sets,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “If you play from behind for long enough, eventually you’ll end up behind.”
The one three-setter that did go the Wolfpack’s way was junior Sophie Abrams’ match. After winning a gritty first set 7-5, she lost her next one 6-1 but stormed back in the third for a crucial match win, one that put NC State in clinch position at 3-1.
From there, though, the Commodores slowly turned the match. Vanderbilt first knocked off freshman Anna Zyryanova in three sets to make it 3-2. Juniors Amelia Rajecki and Abigail Rencheli battled valiantly on the two remaining courts and both had plenty of heart-stopping moments in the latter halves of their matches. But in heartbreaking fashion for the numerous Wolfpack fans in attendance, the two NC State veterans couldn’t pull out either of their matches.
Even in her loss, the No. 23-ranked Rajecki pulled off one of the most memorable moments of the match in a bout on court two. After losing her first set, Rajecki found herself down 40-15 at 5-2. With match point looming high over everyone’s heads, the junior didn’t let it faze her. Rajecki did the unthinkable, not just winning the game, but winning five of her next six, the last of which was in tiebreak, to push the match to a third set.
Rajecki continued to fight hard, and despite her best efforts, eventually lost her third set 7-5. With the scoreline at 3-3, all eyes turned to court three, where the No. 25 ranked Rencheli was in her own slugfest with her Commodore opponent. While the junior clutched out a 7-5 second set win after dropping her first, she couldn’t get it going in the third, eventually losing 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 as the Commodores completed the comeback.
The only mellow parts of the day’s events came at the beginning of the match. NC State won the doubles point thanks to respective 6-3 wins from the pairs of graduate student Alana Smith and Zyryanova and junior Gina Dittman and Rencheli. The No. 13 ranked Smith then cruised through her singles match, winning 6-2, 6-4 on court one to give the Pack a 2-0 lead. Soon after though, Dittman lost just as quickly as Smith won, allowing the Commodores to get back into the match.
With the loss, NC State will miss out on its chance to compete at the ITA Indoor Championships, meaning it’ll lose out on the opportunity to add some quality wins to its resume. But just because it doesn’t have those opportunities, doesn’t mean the job gets any easier from here. Just next weekend, the Pack is set to face two more ranked opponents — No. 22 Tennessee and No. 17. Oklahoma. And if NC State is to recoup from the loss to Vanderbilt, those games should be considered must-wins.
“We’re going to have to win if we want to have any chance to host a Regional or Super Regional,” Earnshaw said. “This early in the season, we have to win those matches because now we’re not going to get the matches that everybody else is going to get at the National Indoors, which is quality opportunities against quality opponents.”
Falling behind early in sets and losing a majority of three-set singles matches won’t fly against these two talented programs, but NC State has the talent and ability to get to 4-1 after the weekend.
“Look, neither of those [matches] will be easy,” Earnshaw said. “They’re both quality teams and programs and this is why we schedule them.”
NC State’s showdown with the Sooners is set for Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon.
