Clemson Downs Baylor

May 10, 2003

Chapel Hill, NC – Julie Coin, Alix Lacelarie and Laurence Jayet all won straight set singles matches to lead Clemson to a 4-1 win over Baylor in the first round of the NCAA women’s tennis tournament at the University of North Carolina’s Cone Kenfield Tennis Center on Saturday. The Lady Tigers advance to Sunday’s second-round against the winner of the North Carolina vs. College of Charleston Match, which will be played Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Tigers captured the match in just two hours and 20 minutes. Nancy Harris’s team swept the three doubles matches to win the doubles point. Clemson is now 19-5 for the season, while Baylor, regular season champions of the Big 12 Conference, fell to 11-13. The 19 wins are the most for the Lady Tiger program since the 1993 team finished 20-6.

If Clemson meets North Carolina on Sunday it will be the third meeting of the season between the two top 20 teams. Clemson, ranked 19th in the nation entering the tournament, won 4-3 at Clemson on April 13, but the Tar Heels, now ranked 11th, came back with a 4-0 win in the ACC Tournament six days later.

After Clemson captured the doubles point, Alix Lacelarie defeated Baylor’s Stephanie Balzert, 6-3, 6-2. Lacelarie, ranked 49th in the nation, improved her record to 16-4 in singles matches for the season.

Baylor won its only match at number-six singles when Zuzana Krchnakova defeated Clemson’s Anna Dolinska, 6-1, 6-3. Clemson came within one match of victory when Jayet won at number-five singles over Barbora Blahutiakova, 6-3, 6-3. It was Jayet’s 21st win of the season against 14 losses.

Clemson clinched the match when Coin was victorious at number-one singles over Vida Mulec, 6-2, 6-3. The #19 ranked player in the nation, Coin improved to 31-5 in singles matches for the season, including a 19-3 mark in dual matches.

“We got off to a great start by winning the doubles point,” said Harris, who has taken Clemson to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years. Clemson won the three doubles matches by a combined 24-5. “We worked hard on our doubles play all week and it paid off today. We carried the momentum into the singles matches. Baylor competed very well, but we prevailed. Julie Coin was outstanding and clinched the overall team match for us.”

Clemson 4 vs. Baylor 1 NCAA Tournament First Round Match May 10, 2003 at Chapel Hill, NC At Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center

Singles #1 Julie Coin (CU) d. Vida Mulec (B), 6-2, 6-3

#2 Alix Lacelarie (CU) d. Stephanie Balzert (B) 6-3, 6-2

#3 Daniela Alvarcz (CU) vs. Daria Potapova (B), did not finish (6-2, 2-6)

#4 Ioana Paun (CU) vs. Izabela Mijic (B), did not finish (4-6, 3-1)

#5 Laurence Jayet (CU) d. Barbora Blahutiakova (B) 6-3, 6-3

#6 Zuzana Krchnakova (B) d. Anna Dolinska (CU) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles #1 Julie Coin-Laurence Jayet (CU) d. Vida Mulex (B) 8-0

#2 Daniela Alvarex-Alix Lacelaire (CU) d. Izabela-Mijic-Daria Potapova (B) 8-2

#3 Anna Dolinska-Richele LeSaldo (CU) d. Barbora Blahutiakova-Alison Bradley (B) 8-3

Records: Clemson 19-5, Baylor 11-13