After falling to No. 8 Clemson and No. 6 Georgia Tech this weekend, the No. 42 women’s tennis team dropped its third consecutive conference match. This time against ACC rival and No. 11-ranked North Carolina on Thursday at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
The Tar Heels (19-7, 5-2) proved to be too strong for the Wolfpack (12-9, 3-7 ACC), as UNC went on to win the match 5-2.
“We’re at our best when every court [match], we’re just bringing competitive pressure,” coach Hans Olsen said.
“Every point is a real battle. The girls are into every point, and I think we had that on some of the courts, and on some of the courts we got a way from that — we’re going to look to take that up a notch at practice.”
State began its parents’ day with a win at the first doubles match when sophomore Alejandra Guerra and freshman Daria Petrovic beat the No. 3 nationally ranked duo of Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen, 8-5.
The Pack continued to roll when junior Julia Roach and freshman Kate Green toppled the No. 28 nationally ranked team Caitlin Collins and Sanaz Marand, 8-4 — guaranteeing the doubles point for the match.
However, State quickly lost its momentum in singles play. Guerra boasted the team’s sole singles win, 6-2, at the No. 3 position.
Lack of competitive energy as well as tentative play plagued the Pack and forced errors that the players “usually wouldn’t make,” according to Olsen.
“Their team sparked it up at the end, and our team got a little quiet,” Olsen said. “They need to be coming out and firing up some energy, keeping pressure on their opponent — I thought that was the difference.”
Keeping pressure on the opponent could have been in reference to Petrovic, who lost the No. 6 singles position 7-5 after having a commanding lead at 5-2.
However, Guerra said the team doesn’t dwell on its losses. After the match, she said the team sets its focus on the future.
“We just focus on each match,” Guerra said. “We don’t think about losses or wins in a row. Right when we get off the court, we’re ready for the next match.”
That next match will come Saturday when State hosts Duke at noon at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, hoping to end its three-match conference skid.