11th-Ranked Clemson Drops Match Against No. 9 Baylor

April 6, 2011

TigerCast On Demand Video Footage:Singles: Court 1 | Court 2 | Court 3Doubles: Court 1| Court 2| Court 3

CLEMSON, SC – Despite wins from Clemson’s two hottest players, the 11th-ranked women’s tennis team couldn’t overcome a tough push from the middle of No. 9 Baylor’s lineup. The Bears (16-3) pushed past Clemson (17-6), 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.

The Bears snapped a seven-match Tiger winning streak, and maintained their own, as they evened up the all-time series score, 2-2.

Masha Belaya and Josipa Bek kept impressive singles winning streaks alive on the day, both in three-set super tiebreak fashion.

Bek, ranked tenth nationally, has won eight in a row, and defeated No. 14 Sona Novakova at the top singles position. It was the 30th win of the season for Bek, who now has a 15-6 mark against ranked players in 2010-11 and is 18-3 in dual match play. She is also 12-2 in three-set matches this season, the second-most wins in a single season in school history.

Bek also teamed with Keri Wong to defeat Nina Secerbegovic and Karolina Filipiak at the top doubles position, 8-5. The duo fell behind early, 3-1, before roaring back to their 25th win of the season together. Bek is now 31-9 overall, and Wong 30-9 on the year, as the duo boasts the nation’s No. 1 overall ranking.

Belaya won her seventh singles match in a row, and improved to 21-9 in her freshman campaign. The Melbourne, FL native defeated Taylor Ormond, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(11-9) in three sets at flight six.

Baylor entered the match with five ranked players, and four of them pulled out victories, as the Bears took the doubles point and won singles matches at flight two, three, four, and five.

One of the big momentum swings came at flight four, as Nelly Ciolkowski jumped out to a 5-2 lead on No. 103 Jelena Stanivuk. But Stanivuk battled back, eventually winning the set, 7-5, on her way to winning eleven straight games in her 7-5, 6-0 victory.

The Bears then won in straight sets at flight three and flight two to clinch the match.

Sophomore Caroline Magnusson nearly scored an upset over No. 124 Karolina Filipiak at flight five, as she fought off a 6-2 first set loss with a 7-6(8-6) win in the second frame, forcing a third set.

With the score knotted at seven in the super tiebreak, Filipiak was able to capitalize on a couple of Magnusson errors for the win, dropping Magnusson to 16-8 on the season.

Clemson’s tough week continues, as they hit the road to play No. 4 Duke (Saturday, 12:00 pm) and No. 3 North Carolina (Sunday, 1:00 pm) on back-to-back days.

No. 9 Baylor (16-3) def. No. 11 Clemson (17-6), 5-2 April 6, 2011 – Hoke Sloan Tennis Center – Clemson, SC

Doubles: 1. #1 Bek/Wong (CU) def. Secerbegovic/Filipiak (BU), 8-5 2. Stanivuk/Ormond (BU) def. Henry/Magnusson (CU), 8-2 3. Novakova/Nakic (BU) def. Belaya/Vyskocilova (CU), 8-5 Order of Finish: 3,2,1

Singles: 1. #10 Josipa Bek(CU) def. #14 Sona Novakova (BU), 6-1, 6-7(6), 1-0 (8) 2. #36 Nina Secerbegovic (BU) def. #51 Keri Wong (CU), 6-2, 6-2 3. #38 Diana Nakic (BU) def. #100 Klara Vyskocilova (CU), 7-5, 6-1 4. #103 Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Nelly Ciolkowski (CU), 7-5, 6-0 5. #124 Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Caroline Magnusson (CU), 6-3, 6-7(6), 1-0(7) 6. Maria Belaya (CU) def. Taylor Ormond (BU), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(9) Order of Finish: 4,3,2*,6,1,5