RALEIGH – Fourth-ranked NC State women’s tennis shuts down No. 25 Kansas with a 4-0 victory on Saturday evening to advance to the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
Doubles lineups remained the same as the last several matches of this season. No. 4 Diana Shnaider and Alana Smith faced No. 64 Malkia Ngounoue and Heike Janse Van Vuuren on court one. No. 9 Nell Miller and Amelia Rajecki met Roxana Manu and Jocelyn Manu on court two. Sophie Abrams and Abigail Rencheli took on Silvia Costache and Tamari Gagoshidze on court three.
Courts one and three grabbed the first game and eventually, all three courts were able to move into a 2-1 lead.
Abrams and Rencheli pulled out the first doubles win on court three with a commanding 6-2 victory. Miller and Rajecki clinched the point on court two when they also finished with a 6-2 score. Seconds later, Shnaider and Smith secured the sweep when they won 6-3 over their top-65 ranked opponent.
Singles action featured close matchups on all six courts to start off. Although Kansas took the first game on multiple courts, NC State ended up taking every single first set and eventually winning in straight sets in each victory.
After battling through her first set, No. 26 Rajecki cruised through her second and claimed the first singles point on court three when she won 6-4, 6-0.
Abrams crushed her match in sets with a 6-2, 6-2 conquest to extend the team lead to 3-0.
Shnaider and Smith raced to see who would finish first and clinch the advancement to their team on courts one and two. No. 13 Smith was able to pull if off before her teammate, punching their ticket to the Super Regional with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph.
Results:
#4 NC State 4, #25 Kansas 0
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: (3, 2, 1)
1. #4 Diana Shnaider/Alana Smith (ST) def. #64 Malkia Ngounoue/Heike Janse Van Vuuren (KU) 6-3
2. #9 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. Roxana Manu/Jocelyn Massey (KU) 6-2
3. Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Silvia M. Costache/Tamari Gagoshidze (KU) 6-2
Singles Results
Order of Finish: (3, 5, 2)
1. #7 Diana Shnaider (ST) vs. #71 Malkia Ngounoue (KU) 7-5, 5-4, unfinished
2. #13 Alana Smith (ST) def. Roxana Manu (KU) 7-5, 6-2
3. #26 Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. Heike Janse Van Vuuren (KU) 6-4, 6-0
4. #87 Abigail Rencheli (ST) vs. Jocelyn Massey (KU) 6-2,…
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