Wake Forest University
NC State
Demon Deacons Eliminated from ACC Tournament by NC State
4/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Andrew Wilson, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
CARY, N.C. - Kasey Gardiner picked up her 99th and 100th career victories on Wednesday, but it wasn't enough as 11th-seeded Wake Forest women's tennis dropped a 4-2 decision to 14th-seeded NC State in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at Cary Tennis Park.
Wake Forest finishes the season 14-13 with a 4-10 mark in ACC play. The Wolfpack improved to 11-15 on the year with the win and will take on sixth-seeded Georgia Tech on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the tournament. Wednesday's meeting was a tight affair like the first contest between the two sides this year. In the previous meeting on April 12 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex, the Deacs came away with a 4-3 victory over the Wolfpack with every singles match going three sets.
With 100 victories to her name between singles and doubles at Wake Forest, the junior becomes the 35th player in school history to reach the milestone. She posted 33 wins this season, which is her second-best total behind the 40 victories she posted as a sophomore. She is the second player to have accomplished the feat this season, as Karen Forman surpassed the 100-win mark earlier this season in a 7-0 sweep of UNCG.
The 14 wins this season is the most in a singles campaign since the 2009 season when the Deacs won 13 matches. With four conference victories, it marks the most in five seasons under head coach Jeff Wyshner.
Like the first contest between the two sides, NC State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. On court No. 2, the NC State duo worked fast en route to an 8-2 victory. With Nos. 1 and 3 remaining, the two sets finished simultaneously as Gardiner and Kimmy Guerin took an 8-5 win at No. 1, but Courtney Meredith and Luisa Fernandez dropped an 8-4 decision on No. 3 as NC State took the point.
Out of the gate in singles, Wake Forest regained control of the match with quick wins by Guerin and Gardiner at Nos. 1 and 5, respectively. Guerin was first off the court with a 6-1, 6-0 victory while Gardiner made it 2-1 Demon Deacons with a 6-1, 6-4 win.
Though dropping back-to-back points, NC State responded by knotting the match up at 2-2 with a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 2 before going back on top with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 6.
Trailing 3-2 with two matches left at Nos. 3 and 4, Fernandez won a second-set tiebreaker on No. 4 to send her match to a third set while Samantha Asch split her first two sets on No. 3. In the decisive final sets, Fernandez fell down early but came back to knot the set at 4-4 while Asch jumped on her opponent in getting out to a 5-1 lead in the set.
Looking to keep the momentum in the Deacs' favor, both players stumbled as Fernandez and Asch were had their serve broken. Fernandez ultimately fell 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4 while Asch's contest went unfinished with Asch leading 5-4 in the final set.
NC State 4, Wake Forest 2
Singles
1. Kimmy Guerin (WF) def. Joanna Nalborska (NCSU), 6-1, 6-0
2. Liza Fieldsend (NCSU) def. Xue Zhang (WF), 6-2, 7-5
3. Nicole Martinez (NCSU) vs. Samantha Asch (WF), 4-6, 6-4, 3-5
4. Elisha Hande (NCSU) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF), 6-3, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4
5. Kasey Gardiner (WF) def. Sophie Nelson (NCSU), 6-1, 6-4
6. Tayla Stenta (NCSU) def. Courtney Meredith (WF), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4*
Doubles
1. K. Guerin/K. Gardiner (WF) def. J. Nalborska/N. Janowicz (NCSU), 8-5
2. E. Hande/N. Martinez (NCSU) def. S. Asch/A. Retolaza (WF), 8-2
3. L. Fieldsend/S. Nelson (NCSU) def. C. Meredith/L. Fernandez (WF), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
Players Mentioned
