ORLANDO – The fourth-ranked Wolfpack women’s tennis team fell to the first-ranked North Carolina, 4-1, Saturday evening in the National Championship game at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The match made history as it was the first since the tournament began in 1982 that two teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference were competing for the title.
NC State became only the fifth team from the conference to make it to the championship game, joining UNC, Duke, Miami, and Georgia Tech.
The meeting was the third in 44 days for the in-state, conference foes. The Pack was the only team to beat the first-ranked Tar Heels this season after taking them down in the ACC Championship match, 4-1, on April 23.
The first-ranked Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead in doubles play and claimed a win on court two. Courts one and three proved to be a battle as it remained neck-and-neck throughout. NC State claimed the win on court one, leaving the decision to court three. Sophie Abrams and Abigail Rencheli worked their way back from a 5-2 deficit but came up short as UNC took the win 6-4 to secure the doubles point.
The Wolfpack won the first set on courts one, five, and six to start off singles play. Shnaider secured the first point of the evening for the Pack after defeating Reese Brantmeier 6-3, 6-4 on court one. The Tar Heels regained the lead after winning on court two.
UNC quickly picked up points on courts three and four to secure the win and end the match. Games on courts five and six were abandoned.
The Wolfpack finished the season 28-5, the best record in program history. ACC Champions, and the NCAA National Championship Runner Up.
Results:
#4 NC State 1, #1 North Carolina 4
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1. #4 Alana Smith/Diana Schaider (ST) def. Fiona Crawley/Abbey Forbes (UNC) (6-4)
2. Elizabeth Scotty/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. #9 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki (6-1)
3. Reese Brantmeir/Reilly Tran (UNC) def. Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (6-4)
Singles Results
Order of Finish: (1, 2, 4, 3)
1. #7 Diana Shnaider def. #8 Reese Brantmeier 6-3, 6-4
2. #1 Fiona Crawley def. #15 Alana Smith 6-2, 7-6
3. #28 Carson Tanguilig def. #26 Amelia Rajecki 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
4. #107 Elizabeth Scotty def. #87 Abigail Rencheli 7-6, 6-3
5. Sophie Abrams VS #100 Reilly Tran 6-4, 6-7, 1-1…
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