If there was a school record for breaking records, the NC State women’s tennis team probably shattered it last year. NC State’s program-defining season was highlighted by a season-high 26 wins, a program-best ranking of No. 2 and a Doubles National Championship to cap it all off.

But after all those accolades, achievements, record-breaking performances and unforgettable moments, can NC State top its best season in program history? 

Head coach Simon Earnshaw thinks so, and the rest of his squad is eager to get to it.

“I think the takeaway was that there was more than we could have had last year,” Earnshaw said. “Going into this year, I think it’s the same. I think we’re at the point now where [a national championship] is the goal.”

An unsatisfied NC State team has set its sights on the one thing it couldn’t claim last season — a national championship. The Wolfpack got close to that goal in the last postseason, but those hopes were spoiled by its ACC and Triangle rival, Duke, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. 

But now with a perfect mix of returning players and exciting additions, the Pack’s restructured 2023 roster just might be better than its lineup from the previous season, earning NC State the No. 3 spot in ITA’s national rankings. Earnshaw and the Pack won’t just stop there, however. They’re already gunning for the top spot before the season has even started. 

“I think a lot of people talk about pressure when you have a high ranking, but I see it completely the other way,” Earnshaw said. “I think the higher the better. Our goal is to be number one, and number one is a good thing. Number one means you’re good and it also means that everybody else thinks you’re good.”

But before NC State can think about climbing higher in the rankings, it’ll have to deal with a couple of noteworthy departures from last season’s squad. Perhaps the biggest loss is that of Jaeda Daniel, who was one half of the Pack’s Doubles National Championship duo. The veteran’s invaluable on and off-the-court impact will no doubt be missed for the red-and-white in 2022.

However, reinforcements are coming for NC State in terms of veteran leadership. Graduate student Alana Smith, who was sidelined for the entire 2022 season with an injury, is hungry to compete in both singles and doubles this season. 

“I think physically she’s in as good a shape as she’s ever been,” Earnshaw said. “She should be excited to play. She had to sit and watch for a full year, and that’s why she is back. … I have no worries about Alana.”

While Daniel graduated, Priska Nugroho, who was just a freshman last season, transitioned from college to professional tennis in the offseason, and her departure leaves another large hole in the Pack’s lineup. 

However, Earnshaw himself has been hard at work in the offseason and has landed a number of talented young players to create a deeper lineup. Junior Gina Dittman and freshmen Chloe Henderson and Anna Zyryanova are sure to bolster the Pack’s roster for the next few years with their extensive tennis experience. But Earnshaw has an ace up his sleeve that, if it wasn’t already, might make NC State the most dangerous team in college tennis.

Enter freshman Diana Schnaider, a US Open Junior Champion, a regular competitor in Grand Slams for the past few years and the 106th ranked women’s tennis player in the world. Earnshaw was unsurprisingly excited about adding one of the highest-caliber and most-decorated junior tennis players in the world to an already-talented NC State squad.

“Diana is obviously an exceptional add for us,” Earnshaw said. “She grew almost out of sight in the fall. I think the biggest thing is that Diana is excited to be here. She has a very outgoing personality, she’s really looking forward to the dual-matches, and I think she wants to get her feet wet in team tennis and has done very, very well individually.”

Schnaider, who’s won three Junior Grand Slam titles in her career, will undoubtedly be a difference-maker this season and help put an exclamation point on one of the best teams in the nation that’s largely defined by its accomplished list of returning players. 

Juniors Abigail Rencheli, Amelia Rajecki and Sophie Abrams are all poised to make large leaps with another season under their belts. Rencheli, who carved out an impressive run in the 2022 NCAA singles tournament, is set to keep improving and help head up NC State’s singles lineup. Meanwhile, the Pack is primed to carry on its doubles domination from 2022 to 2023, especially with fifth-year senior Nell Miller — the second half of NC State’s national championship pairing. 

To churn through its intimidating 2023 schedule, the Pack will need its roster at top level week after week. To be the best, you have to beat the best, and NC State is currently slated to face 10 ranked teams this season. Before even thinking about ACC play, the Pack will have to contend with No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 24 Tennessee on back-to-back days in February, followed by a home match against Texas in April to round out nonconference play. 

On top of NC State’s rigorous nonconference schedule, its inter-conference play only gets tougher. The ACC is arguably the best conference in college tennis, and six teams including NC State are ranked within the top 25. Three of those teams — North Carolina, Duke and Virginia — gave the Wolfpack fits last season, accounting for the red-and-white’s six losses.

It won’t get much easier against those teams in 2023, however. To close out its season in April, NC State is set to play four straight matches against No. 2 UNC, No. 6 Duke, No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Virginia. Even if the Pack can escape that portion of its schedule relatively unscathed, it’ll still meet many of those same teams again just a few weeks later in the ACC tournament, a competition where NC State has underachieved in recent years. 

“We need to do better in the conference as well,” Earnshaw said. “I think we’ve been a chronic underachiever in the ACC tournament, so we’ve got some things that we need to attack, and I think that if we can do better in those, then ultimately that should get us closer to what the big picture is, which is trying to win a national championship.”

NC State has a more-than-capable roster to do it, but winning a national championship will require a number of gutsy wins from the Wolfpack against the rest of the best in college tennis. With a field that’s better than ever, the road to the promised land won’t be easy, but it’s certainly possible for this team. 

“I think this year women’s college tennis is absolutely loaded,” Earnshaw said. “I don’t think we’ll have seen a stronger field across the board and as many teams that can win as there will be this year in a long time or maybe even ever. I think that we’re going to have to really separate ourselves from the pack just to be there.” 

If NC State is able to succeed against its stingy ACC competition, have its talented lineup play to its full potential and excel in the postseason, there’s no reason the Wolfpack can’t finish the 2023 season with a national championship title in hand. 

The road there starts on Saturday, Jan. 21 when NC State takes on South Carolina on the road at 1 p.m.