The Wolfpacker

86 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State second-year women's ten- nis head coach Simon Earnshaw — who spent the previous 15 years at Armstrong Atlantic State University, where he won nine national titles (six with the women and three with the men) — can never recall relying on a roster so heavily tilted towards freshmen newcomers. Four of his eight players this season are rookies. "They say every year is a new year and come across certain situations that you don't have full experience of, and this is probably one of them," Earnshaw noted. "We are asking a lot of the freshmen. We are really trying to accelerate that transition process. It can be difficult." The highly touted foursome includes Barbara Mancera, at one point rated as the No. 4 tennis player in Mexico's junior divi- sion; Bianca Moldovan, the first ever "blue chip" recruit and highest rated prospect (No. 6) to ever sign with NCSU; Amanda Rebol, the No. 59 prospect in the 2015 class according to TennisRecruiting.net; and Claudia Wiktorin, a five-star prospect ranked No. 25 nationally in her class and one of the premier tennis players from the state of North Carolina. In addition to the four freshmen, Earn- shaw also brought in Mississippi State transfer Martina Frantova, a junior and native of Slovakia. When he first arrived in Raleigh in 2014, Earnshaw convinced former Louisiana Tech standout Joanna Na- lborska to transfer to State. Thus his roster is quite different from the one he inherited. There is a difference though between freshmen and transfers. It is a fact that Earnshaw noted after the group opened with an impressive debut at the Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh Sept. 11. "We came out like we shot out of a can- non," Earnshaw said. "Generally you ex- pect to really struggle that first day. [As- sistant coach] Gina [Suarez-Malaguti] and I were sitting there after that first day of competition at the Wolfpack Invitational, kind of, I don't know if giddy, but thinking, 'Wow, maybe we really have done well.'" After that, reality began to set in for the talented young players. Earnshaw noted that there have definitely been freshman mistakes. "They think they know how it's going to be, but they really don't know," Earnshaw said. "They don't manage the situation on and off the court as well as they will later on. We just have to try to navigate that. ■ PREVIEW WOMEN'S TENNIS Mississippi State transfer Martina Frontova impressed in the fall with five wins against ranked opponents, including beating No. 5 Josie Kuhlman of Florida. PHOTO BY JED GAMMON/COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS YOUTH MOVEMENT The Wolfpack Roster Is Half-Full With Freshmen Players To Watch Junior Martina Frontova Frantova arrived at NC State from Mississippi State this fall and made an impressive impact, piling up five wins against ranked opponents and winning the USTA Clay Court Invitational's Gold singles bracket Nov. 5-8 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. Frontova is likely to lead the Pack's singles lineup this spring. Senior Joanna Nalborska Nalborska arrived at NC State after two years at Louisiana Tech, where she was the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Last season, Nalborska was the Pack's primary No. 1 singles competitor and won nine matches during the dual season. Sophomore Tayla Stenta Stenta added to Frontova's triumph in Orlando, Fla., by winning the White singles bracket at the USTA Clay Court Invitational. She hopes to build off her rookie season during which she won 11 singles matches in dual play, including five in ACC action.

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