The NC State women's tennis team has released its schedule for the 2024 dual match season, as announced by head coach Simon Earnshaw on Thursday.
The entire match schedule can be found HERE, with time for each match to be announced as soon as they are finalized. Home matches for the Wolfpack are held at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center and are free to attend.
It was an unforgettable 2022-23, as Season 46 of Wolfpack women's tennis was the best yet. The Pack tackled a demanding regular-season schedule to set itself up for the deepest postseason run in program history. 2022-23 culminated with the team's first-ever ACC Championship title and National Runner-Up status.
Appearing in the championship match for the first time in program history, NC State came home in a dramatic fashion with the ACC crown. The fifth-ranked Wolfpack defeated rival, top-ranked and previously undefeated UNC by a 4-1 score to mark the program's first time beating the nation's No. 1 team.
NC State returns five players from the 2022-23 squad, including 2023 NCAA Women's Singles Championships semi-finalist Amelia Rajecki, 2022 All-American Abigail Rencheli, 2023 NCAA All-Tournament Team, Gina Dittmann, with Sophie Abrams and Anna Zyryanova rounding out the Pack's returners. The squad welcomes four newcomers freshmen Gabriella Broadfoot, Reya Lee Coe, Maddy Zampardo, and transfer Kristina Paskauskas.
The 2024 spring schedule offers the Wolfpack strong non-conference and ACC play competition. The Wolfpack opens the season in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Weinman Foundation Invitational Jan. 4-7.
ACC action gets underway on March 1st against Notre Dame, with duals against in-state opponents UNC and Duke taking place on March 22nd and 24th.
The ACC Tournament is set to begin on April 19th and run through the 21st, followed by the NCAA Tournament starting on May 3, with the Team Championships taking place in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on May 16th.
HEARING FROM THE HEAD COACH
"For the past several years, our goal has been to build the most robust schedule possible, and this season is no exception," head coach Simon Earnshaw said. "The way the current ranking algorithm works, the more opportunities you can get against top-ranked opposition, the better."
"We are fortunate to start this season in Hawaii before our home opener against future ACC opponent SMU on January 15th. As always, the goal in January is to be as prepared as we can be for the ITA Kick-off weekend, which we again host the last weekend of the month. Moving into February, we have three extremely challenging road matches against top-15 opposition from 2023, which will test the team to the maximum level at Tennessee, Michigan, and Oklahoma. This way, no matter what, coming into ACC play, we have been pushed to the max for what will once more be the most demanding conference schedule in college tennis."
"Coming off last season's NCAA Final appearance, I speak for all our returning players that we wanted to play again immediately the next day. As such, we've been waiting for that next opportunity and can't wait to hit the courts this spring along with our newcomers. Go Pack."
Following the conclusion of a successful slate of fall action, NC State has five singles players and three double pairs featured in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
It was highlighted by Rajecki, who was ranked No. 3, the highest ranking ever by a Wolfpack player in program history. After setting the program record with 16 singles wins in the fall, Abrams is ranked No.19. Rencheli checks in at No. 27, Zyryanova at No. 40, and Zampardo at No. 116 to round out the singles rankings.
In the ITA National doubles rankings, NC State was the only program with two pairs ranked in the top 10. First, No. 7 Amelia Rajecki and Maddy Zampardo, followed by No. 9 Sophie Abrams and Anna Zyryanova. The third Wolfpack pair to be ranked is Gabriella Broadfoot and Abigail Rencheli at No. 52.
https://gopack.com/news/2023/12/14/womens-tennis-wolfpack-womens-tennis-releases-2023-2024-dual-match-schedule