In a top-15 ACC matchup that came down to the final singles court, the No. 12 NC State women's tennis team emerged victorious with a 4-3 win over No. 13 Duke on Thursday evening.
With the win, NC State improved to 14-3 and 8-2 in conference play. The Pack extended its winning streak to six ACC matches and seven matches overall, and the squad has now defeated five nationally-ranked foes this season.
The victory also snapped the Pack's 16-match losing streak to the Blue Devils and was just NC State's second all-time win against Duke after the Pack also won the teams' matchup in Raleigh in 2007. Coming into the match, the Blue Devils had won 54 straight home contests. NC State and Duke did not get a chance to square off last season in a campaign that was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pack looked sharp in doubles action as some of the nation's best pairs faced off against one another. Ninth-ranked Anna Rogers and Alana Smith came out victorious, 6-2, in a top-10 matchup with sixth-ranked Meible Chi and Margaryta Bilokin. Freshmen Abigail Rencheli and Amelia Rajecki did not shy away from a big opportunity and earned their first ranked doubles win in 6-1 fashion over No. 39 Kelly Chen and Georgia Drummy.
After Duke took the 2-1 lead in the team score with a pair of straight-sets wins, the remaining four singles matches came down to third sets. NC State took two of those matches with Abigail Rencheli and Alana Smith gutting out wins, but the Blue Devils quickly tied the match with a win on court six.
The decision came down to court one in a face off between fifth-ranked Rogers and 27th-ranked Chen. Rogers overcame a set deficit and also a multi-game deficit in the third set to claim the 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 7-5 win and clinch in dramatic fashion for the Pack.
RESULTS:
#12 NC State 4, #13 Duke 3
Doubles Results
Order of finish: (3, 1)
1. #9 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NC State) def. #6 Meible Chi/Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) 6-2
2. #5 Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (NC State) vs. #10 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (Duke) 5-2, unfinished
3. Abigail Rencheli/Amelia Rajecki (NC State) def. #39 Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (Duke) 6-1
Singles Results
Order of finish: (3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 1)
1. #5 Anna Rogers (NC State) def, #27 Kelly Chen (Duke) 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 7-5
2. #29 Alana Smith (NC State) def. #77 Georgia Drummy (Duke) 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-5
3. #34 Chloe Beck (Duke) def. #112 Adriana Reami (NC State) 6-1, 6-3
4. #42 Meible Chi (Duke) def. Jaeda Daniel (NC State) 6-4, 6-3
5. Abigail Rencheli (NC State) def. #117 Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
6. Karolina Berankova (Duke) def. Lexi Keberle (NC State) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
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NC State will prep for another ranked matchup as it turns its attention to a Saturday afternoon date with the top-ranked Tar Heels. First serve from Chapel Hill is scheduled for 3 p.m. that afternoon.