RALEIGH, N.C. - In what was likely Maryland's final trip to Raleigh as a member of the ACC, the NC State women's tennis team won all three doubles matches and did not drop one set in singles play en route to defeating the Terrapins, 7-0, Sunday afternoon at the Curtis and Jacqueline Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium.
"It's been a great week and the team worked really hard," Olsen said. "The team had great enthusiasm yesterday and today. It was contagious throughout the team. I thought they did a great job."
Prior to the match, the women's tennis program recognized former head coach Kelly Key-Gaines. The head coach of the team from 1990-95, Key-Gaines mentored the first Wolfpack player to reach the NCAA singles tournament and coach
ed two players on the ACC's 50th Anniversary team in Kylie Hunt and Jenny Garrity. She has been the Executive Director of USTA North Carolina since 1995, and is regarded as one of the most respected executive directors in the country.
"I love NC State," Key-Gaines said. "I had a wonderful experience here. I love my Wolfpack and I love the women who were here when I was here. I thank the NC State family very much."
The Wolfpack got off to a fast start in doubles play as the duo of senior Tatiana Illova and juniorJoelle Kissell pushed its record to 11-5 on the season and won its third straight match with an 8-4 victory over Vroni Van Berlo and Sarah Gealer in the No. 1 spot.
Playing at the No. 2 spot, the Pack's sophomore tandem of Elisha Hande and Nicole Martinez defeated Maryland's (5-13, 0-8 ACC) sisterly duo of Olga and Nataliya Bredikhina, 8-4, to clinch the doubles point and give the Pack a 1-0 lead in the overall match.
With the win, Hande and Martinez improved to 12-6 overall and 11-4 in dual matches.
Senior Chloe Smith and sophomore Sophie Nelson completed the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win over Olga Gaistruk and Gabriela Srodowski in the No. 3 spot, while improving their mark to 12-6 on the season.
"In doubles, we've been working to be more aggressive with balls in the air, and I thought we did a good job of that today," Olsen said.
NC State (13-6, 4-5 ACC) has not lost a match when it wins the doubles point and owns a perfect 13-0 record on those occasions.
Singles play began with Illova, the nation's 112th-ranked player, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Gealer in the No. 2 spot, and improving her record to 13-5 on the season.
Kissell, ranked No. 50 in the country and playing at the No. 1 spot, pushed the Wolfpack lead to 3-0 over the Terrapins when she downed Van Berlo, 6-4, 6-3, running her mark to 17-10 overall and 13-4 in dual singles matches this spring.
"I was just focusing on playing every point and not giving very many loose points," Kissell said. "When I was more relaxed I was able to be freer and go for my shots. It was a good match."
Playing in the No. 3 spot for just the second time this season and in back-to-back days, Smith clinched the overall match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Nataliya Bredikhina. The Naples, Fla., native recorded her fourth-straight win and moved her record to 14-3 in dual singles play on the 2013 campaign.
Freshman Rachael James-Baker also picked up her fourth win in a row with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Gaistruk at the No. 4 spot to push NC State's lead to 5-0 over the Terrapins. James-Baker is now 11-7 in dual singles play and 5-4 in ACC matches this spring.
Martinez muscled out a win of her own on court six, where the Quito, Ecuador native outlasted Srodowski, 7-5, 7-5, before Hande took down Olga Bredikhina, 6-3, 7-5, on court five to complete the Pack's shutout of the Terps.
The Wolfpack will return to action for its final two regular season matches when it hosts Clemson next Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m., before facing Georgia Tech on Sunday, April 21 at noon.
Tennis Match Results
#44 NC State 7, Maryland 0
Singles competition
1. #50 Joelle Kissell (NCSU) def. Vroni Van Berlo (MD) 6-4, 6-3
2. #112 Tatiana Illova (NCSU) def. Sarah Gealer (MD) 6-4, 6-2
3. Chloe Smith (NCSU) def. Olga Bredikhina (MD) 6-2, 6-2
4. Rachael James-Baker (NCSU) def. Olga Gaistruk (MD) 6-4, 6-4
5. Elisha Hande (NCSU) def. Nataliya Bredikhina (MD) 6-3, 7-5
6. Nicole Martinez (NCSU) def. Gabriela Srodowski (MD) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Tatiana Illova/Joelle Kissell (NCSU) def. Vroni Van Berlo/Sarah Gealer (MD) 8-4
2. Elisha Hande/Nicole Martinez (NCSU) def. Olga Bredikhina/Nataliya Bredikhina (MD) 8-4
3. Chloe Smith/Sophie Nelson (NCSU) def. Olga Gaistruk/Gabriela Srodowski (MD) 8-5
Match Notes:
Maryland 5-13, 0-8 ACC
NC State 13-6, 4-5 ACC; National ranking #44
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (,1,3,4,6,5)
T-3:31 A-300
