For the first time in school history, N.C. State had women’s tennis players advance to the NCAA individual championship tournament.
But freshman Daria Petrovic and sophomore Alejandra Guerra, the nation’s No. 22 doubles team, lost in the first round of the NCAA individual championships held in Athens, Ga., on May 24.
The Pack pair fell 6-4, 6-0 to then-No. 12 Catrina and Christian Thompson, senior twin sisters from Notre Dame.
State coach Hans Olsen said the NCAA tournament invites an elite group of doubles teams. He said there are approximately 750 doubles in the nation, and only 32 play in the tournament.
“It’s an elite group, and our girls definitely earned it,” Olsen said in a phone interview Monday. “They beat three top-10 teams in the last bit of the season, including the team from UNC that ended up winning the national title [then-No. 3 Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long].”
Olsen said the match with the Thompson twins was tight in the first set.
“It was four-all in the first set, and we had three or four points that would have given us a 5-4 lead,” he said. “It just didn’t work out. Once the twins got the first set under their belts, they really relaxed and cruised from there. That four-all game was the key to the match.”
Ranked No. 24 heading into the tournament, Petrovic and Guerra finished the season with a 17-7 record, which included three top-10 wins and a victory over the nation’s No. 13 doubles team in the Pack’s first-round loss to Auburn in the team tournament.
Olsen said he figured the pair’s inexperience was going to play a factor in their first match, regardless of whom they played.
“There was a little bit of nervousness,” Olsen said. “I thought the first match would be their toughest no matter the opponent, and then if they could get past the first, they’d be OK. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for us. It was a tough match; it didn’t work out, but it was a great experience. The kind of focus you get from experience – it’s hard to measure how far it can go.”
Olsen said the pair’s success was a sign of how the doubles teams played for the Pack this season.
“Our doubles has been one of the many building blocks this year and the last two years,” he said. “This year’s team accomplished a lot in doubles. [Petrovic and Guerra] came together in the spring season each week, especially in the last month of the season. It helped them to keep every match tight.”
Olsen said Petrovic and Guerra will start off as one of the best teams in the country next season.
“At least half of this year’s draw will be graduate out,” Olsen said. “Daria and Alejandra will be starting at a much higher spot. They’ll be coming in as one of the premier teams in the country.”
Petrovic and Guerra finished the season ranked No. 22 in the final doubles poll. Petrovic is also ranked No. 97 in the final singles poll, and the Pack is ranked No. 41 in the final team poll.
