While it wasn’t always smooth sailing, the No. 3 NC State women’s tennis team got the job done in its 2023 home-opener, besting Illinois 4-0 in the Pack’s first match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.

The Fighting Illini (1-1) stayed true to their namesake, battling the Wolfpack (2-0) for each and every point throughout the match. But while the Illini didn’t go down easy, they were no match for NC State as the home side pushed through for its second win of the season.

The Illini came out swinging, giving the Wolfpack a run for its money in the early doubles round. The first two courts finished simultaneously, with both teams claiming a 6-3 win. Graduate student Alana Smith and freshman Anna Zyryanova won in admirable fashion, but with juniors Sophie Abrams and Abigail Rencheli falling to their opponents, all eyes turned to court one where the No. 8-ranked pair of fifth-year Nell Miller and junior Amelia Rajecki were fighting just to stay alive. 

The Pack’s top-10 doubles pair found itself down 5-4 and later 6-5 to its opponent. Miller and Rajecki weren’t fazed, however, and hung around long enough to take the match to a tiebreak. Once there, the pair didn’t mess around, winning the breaker 7-3 thanks to some heroic efforts from Miller on match point to claim the 1-0 advantage in dramatic fashion. 

In the following singles round, NC State did more of the same, persevering through some tough circumstances to ultimately come out on top. However, Zyryanova’s match-clinching win on court six was the highlight of the round and, along with her earlier doubles win, represented the newcomer’s first victories of many with the Pack. 

“[Clinching] is really special, especially while playing at home and playing for NC State,” Zyryanova said. “Also, it’s my first win in doubles and singles, and I’m just really happy to be here and to win this match.”

The freshman’s win is all the more impressive considering her circumstances. Zyryanova joined the team mere weeks ago and wasn’t even supposed to play singles until the last minute. But it was clear that the Russian embraced the pressure in her home debut, winning her match 6-4, 7-5 to put the contest away.

“I was quite nervous before the match because I wasn’t supposed to play singles,” Zyryanova said. “I was really happy to play, and it was hard because I’m a freshman and I’ve only been here for three weeks. There was a lot of pressure while playing, but it was really good.”

The first NC State singles win came by way of another NC State newcomer, junior Gina Dittman. She cruised through her singles match for a relatively uneventful 6-2, 6-2 win that put the Pack up 2-0. Abrams, who is ranked at No. 97 in the nation, did the same, handily beating her opponent 6-2, 6-3 to put the Pack into clinch position. 

While Zyryanova, Dittman and Abrams provided the necessary singles wins to clinch the match at 4-0, the rest of NC State’s players met some traction on the remaining courts. 

The No. 13-ranked Smith pulled out a tough first-set win in tiebreak and was met with even more resistance by her Illini opponent in her second set before play was stopped. Meanwhile, the No. 23-ranked Rajecki split her first two sets before her match was put to a halt. 

Additionally, the No. 25-ranked Rencheli seemed to have a scary injury early on in her first set. After some time, the junior was able to get back on the court to continue play but was seemingly limited by the lower-body injury. As one of the most important and strongest players on the team, Rencheli’s status will be critical moving forward. 

Even with the 4-0 win, NC State didn’t quite live up to its potential or its sky-high standards against Illinois. There was a lot left out on the courts, and a stronger performance will be necessary if the Pack is to down its next opponent tomorrow in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. 

“[Tomorrow’s match] is going to be tough,” said head coach Simon Earnshaw. “We’re going to have to play a lot better and we’re going to have to manage a lot of things to enable us to be in a headspace where we can allow that performance to happen.”

While the red-and-white still doesn’t know if it will face Furman or Vanderbilt on Sunday, Jan. 29, the Pack will aim to up its level regardless of its opponent. Play at the Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium is set for 2 p.m.