The No. 8 NC State women’s tennis team was able to schedule an early-season test against No. 14 South Carolina and came out of Columbia, South Carolina with a 6-1 win Wednesday afternoon. 

By the time freshman Amelia Rajecki won her match to end singles play, the question wasn’t if NC State could beat South Carolina, but by how much. NC State, in what was billed to be a marquee match against a good opponent, beat the Gamecocks handily.

The match began at 1 p.m. with doubles play, where NC State excelled in last season and continued to do so today. Senior Jaeda Daniel and fifth-year Adriana Reami, as well as the undefeated pairing of sophomore Lana Mavor and Rajecki, put the Wolfpack over the top and gave NC State that important doubles point, with Reami and Daniel notching their ninth doubles win in 2021. 

While winning the doubles point has been crucial for the Wolfpack in the past, it turns out it  didn’t need it as badly today. Its domination in singles became the story of the afternoon.

Fifth-year Anna Rogers got the ball rolling with a two-set victory over Mia Horvit. Rogers’ doubles partner, junior Alana Smith, followed suit with a win over Megan Davies. When senior Lexi Keberle toppled Allie Gretkowski in a two-set win of her own, NC State had already gotten to four points and had clinched the victory over the Gamecocks. Rajecki and Reami beat their opponents to finish the day for the Pack, and earned two more points just for good measure. Daniel was the only member of the team to fall, albeit to a No. 93-ranked opponent.

It’s unclear how the rest of NC State’s season will shake out but with the ITA Kickoff Weekend slated for Jan. 22-25 coming up, the Pack will spend its short rest preparing for that in order to advance to the 2021 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, set for Feb. 5-7.