Hatton Notches First Career Ranked Win as Clemson Falls, 4-3

Box Score

Clemson, S.C. — Sophia Hatton earned her first career ranked win as the Clemson women’s tennis team fell to Auburn, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, Clemson falls to 2-2 on the season, while Auburn improves to 4-1.

Hatton dominated the first set against No. 99 Taylor Russo, winning 6-1. Down 3-5 in the second set, the freshman battled back to tie it at 5-all before ultimately falling 5-7. In the deciding set, Hatton jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Russo evened the score at 4-all. However, the DeWitt, N.Y.-native took the next two games to win, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. 

“It feels great,” said Hatton. “I just stayed in it and battled every point. I wanted to win for the team.”

Clemson took an early lead in the match by winning the doubles point. Jenna Thompson and Eleni Louka notched the first win of the day for Clemson at line two (6-1). After Mackenzy Middlebrooks and Laura Marti fell at No. 1, Hatton and Cristina Mayorova clinched the doubles point on Court 3, 6-2. 

In singles, Thompson notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Yu Chen at line two to put Clemson up 2-1. With the win Thompson improves to 5-1 in singles this season and remains undefeated in dual match play. 

Notes:

• Sophia Hatton earns her first career ranked win in singles
• Jenna Thompson wins her third consecutive singles match and is undefeated in dual match play this season (4-0).
• Clemson falls to Auburn for the first times since 1999

Up Next:

Clemson returns to The Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Tuesday when they host Western Carolina. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.

For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s tennis team, follow @ClemsonWTennis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.