February ended with a fizzle for the No. 9 NC State women’s tennis team. After a close loss to No. 5 Florida State to start the weekend, the Wolfpack went home early after its match against Miami was canceled. The team is hoping for better results as it moves into March and gets into the thick of conference play.
Vs. Clemson – March 6
The Wolfpack starts the month off this Saturday against the Tigers, who lack any ranked singles players or doubles pairs and have not proven themselves to be a competitive team. Clemson is 0-5 against Power Five teams and 0-3 in the ACC. Some of these matches have been close, but overall, Clemson has been outscored 25-8 in these matches.
Vs. Georgia Tech – March 7
After a quick turnaround, the team drew Georgia Tech, a very competitive team which should be the best competition the Wolfpack will face in March. Georgia Tech has three ranked singles players in addition to a top-five doubles pair. Traditionally, Georgia Tech has dominated NC State, but the Pack won the matchup in 2019, ending a 20-match win streak for the Yellow Jackets over the Wolfpack. The current NC State squad is a very different one than many of the ones Georgia Tech beat up on, but history is certainly on the side of Georgia Tech.
At Louisville – March 12
The Pack starts the pair of road matches during this weekend with Louisville. When taking on teams similar in ranking to NC State, the Cardinals have not fared well, falling to No. 1 UNC, No. 10 Vanderbilt and No. 11 Duke by a crushing combined score of 2-19.
At Notre Dame – March 13
Notre Dame is similar in caliber to Louisville. It has been competitive against some ACC teams but looked overwhelmed when facing top-ranked teams. Notre Dame does have one ranked singles player and one ranked doubles pair, but that hasn’t been enough to make it competitive against top teams.
Vs. Boston College – March 19
First up for the Pack during its pair of home matches toward the end of March will be Boston College. Boston College also has one ranked singles player and one ranked doubles pair. However, this hasn’t led to anything but average results. Boston College was swept 7-0 in its only ranked matchup against No. 15 Virginia and has gone 2-2 in its other four ACC matches.
Vs. Syracuse – March 21
While the Orange haven’t been world beaters, they are one of the tougher matchups of the month for the Wolfpack. Syracuse has gone 3-2 in ACC matchups since the beginning of the year, including a close 4-3 loss against Virginia. The Orange stumbled out of the gate after being swept in their first two matches of the season but have been much more competitive since the start of ACC play.
March doesn’t have many marquee matchups for the Wolfpack as it will play only one ranked team; however, it will prove to be an important time of year if the Wolfpack wants to finish the season near the top of the ACC standings. Half of the Wolfpack’s conference matches come in March, so it better rack up some wins before a very tough April.
