18th-Ranked Tigers Fall To #4 Notre Dame, 5-2, In First Round Action At USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships

Feb. 1, 2007

MADISON, WI – Clemson, ranked 18th, fell to #4 Notre Dame, 5-2, in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Thursday evening at the A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, WI. The Tigers will face Brigham Young at 10:00 am Eastern Time on Friday in the consolation bracket of the tournament.

With the loss, Clemson dropped to 2-1 on the year while the Irish improved to 3-0.

Notre Dame edged the Tigers in doubles play to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft trailed, 2-0, to Carol Salge and Ina Hadziselimovic in the flight two match-up, but the fifth-ranked Irish duo went on to win by an 8-3 margin, giving Notre Dame the first point of the afternoon. Clemson’s Ani Mijacika and Federica van Adrichem fought a fierce battle at the top spot against the Irish’s Thompson tandem of Catrina and Christian, who rank 11th in the ITA Tennis doubles poll. The Notre Dame team led 2-0 in the contest before the Tiger pair went ahead 5-4. Mijacika and van Adrichem then held a 7-6 advantage, but the Thompson twins posted the next three points for the 9-7 victory to clinch the point for the Irish.

At flight three, Clemson’s Maria Brito and Alexandra Luc’s match against Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik was set to a 7-7 tie after the first two contests were decided. Brito and Luc won the tie-breaked, 8-5, to post the win.

In singles action, the Tigers tied the match at 1-1 as Mijacika upset 31st-ranked Colleen Rielley at the flight two position. Mijacika won the first set, 6-4, fell by a 6-4 margin in the second and then claimed the third, 6-4, to improve her record to 8-3 overall. Notre Dame went up, 2-1, after Tefft won a three-set victory over Hadziselimovic at number four (4-6, 6-1, 6-4.) Van Adrichem then knotted the score with a straight-set win over Katie Potts at flight six, 7-5, 6-4.

Carol Salge at the top flight. Maria Brito was then defeated by Ciobanu at flight five, 6-4, 7-5.

#4 Notre Dame 5, #18 Clemson 2 Doubles 1. #11 Ca. Thompson/Ch. Thompson (ND) def. Mijacika/van Adrichem (CU), 9-7 2. #5 Brook Buck/Tefft (ND) def. Salge/Hadziselimovic (CU), 8-3 3. Brito/Alexandra Luc (CU) def. Ciobanu/Kali Krisik (ND), 8-7(5) Order of Finish – 2, 1, 3Singles 1. #41 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #72 Carol Salge (CU), 6-1, 6-3 2. Ani Mijackia (CU) def. #31 Colleen Rielley (ND), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 3. Christian Thompson (ND) def. Estefania Balda (CU), 6-1, 6-0 4. Kelcy Tefft (ND) def. Ina Hadziselimovic (CU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 5. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) def. Maria Brito (CU), 6-4, 7-5 6. Federica van Adrichem (CU) def. Katie Potts (ND), 7-5, 6-4 Order of Finish – 2, 4, 6, 3, 1, 5