Once again, in a battle of in-state rivals, it came down to the last match on the last court. Freshman
Maddy Zampardo won a thrilling three-set match to help push NC State (15-4, 5-1) past UNC for the second time this season 4-3 from the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
In a match that lasted five hours and moved inside after the weather had paused play on the outside courts, the Wolfpack once again battled back from dropping the doubles point to win four singles matches and earn the win. The victory moves NC State 11-0 when playing on the home courts.
With the score 2-0 in favor of the visiting Tar Heels No. 5,
Amelia Rajecki got the Pack on the board with a straight-set victory 6-4, 7-5. Fellow senior
Gina Dittmann evened the match with a ranked win over No. 37 Carson Tanguilig (NC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
UNC got within a point of victory with a win on court five but on court three, No. 43
Anna Zyryanova fought back from a set down to win two straight sets and even the match at 3-3.
Zampardo had cruised in her first set against Tatum Evans 6-1, but Evans evened things up in the second set, winning 6-4. In the third and decisive set, Zampardo jumped out to a lead and never looked back, eventually securing the match with an ace out wide at a 5-4 deuce.
It was North Carolina's first conference loss of the season. In the last four meetings, the Wolfpack is 3-1 against the Tar Heels. Before last season, the Wolfpack had only beaten UNC once since 1998.
The Wolfpack will prepare to face another Triangle Area opponent when Duke comes to Raleigh on March 24 at 2 p.m. from the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
Singles competition1. #5
Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. #22 Fiona Crawley (NC) 6-4, 7-5
2. #42 Elizabeth Scotty (NC) def. #51
Abigail Rencheli (ST) 6-0, 6-2
3. #43
Anna Zyryanova (ST) def. #49 Reilly Tran (NC) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
4.
Gina Dittmann (ST) def. #37 Carson Tanguilig (NC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. #20 Anika Yarlagadda (NC) def. #110
Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-3, 6-2
6.
Maddy Zampardo (ST) def. Tatum Evans (NC) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Order of finish: Singles (2,1,4,5,3,6)
Doubles competition1. #17 Fiona Crawley/Carson Tanguilig (NC) def. #10
Anna Zyryanova/
Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-3 2. #13
Amelia Rajecki/
Maddy Zampardo (ST) def. Elizabeth Scotty/Tatum Evans (NC) 6-3
3. #19 Reilly Tran/Abbey Forbes (NC) def.
Abigail Rencheli/
Gabriella Broadfoot (ST) 6-3
https://gopack.com/news/2024/3/22/womens-tennis-no-14-wolfpack-battles-back-to-take-down-no-6-unc