Clemson Duo Advances to Final 16 at NCAA Doubles Championships

May 27, 2011

Updated Doubles Bracket (5/27)  | Tournament Home Page

STANFORD, CA – A day after falling in the NCAA Singles Championships, Clemson juniors Josipa Bek and Keri Wong came out with a strong, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, win in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships in Stanford, CA. The Tigers, a national 5-8 seed, battled Kristi Boxx and Abby Guthrie of Mississippi for more than two hours in a match that didn’t end until 12:20 am eastern on Friday.

The Tiger duo advances to play Tennessee’s 19th-ranked duo of Natalie Pluskota and Brynn Boren on Friday at 6:30 pm eastern. Fans can watch the match live courtesy of GoStanford.com.

In the NCAA Tournament, teams play best-of-three matches as opposed to the dual match season, where they play one pro set.

It was an interesting matchup for the Tigers. Wong, a native of Jackson, MS, is very familiar with the Ole Miss program, and got the win against her home state team.

It was the duo’s 31st win of the season together, extending their own school mark. It also moved Bek and Wong alone into first and second all-time in single season doubles wins, respectively. Bek won her 37th match of the season, while Wong moved ahead of Ina Hadziselimovic’s 2010 mark of 35 wins with her 36th.

Bek appeared to be fighting injury throughout the match, as she was forced to retire from her singles match a day earlier. But she and Wong communicated well, and were able to control the volleys and limit baseline opportunities for the Rebel group, who entered ranked 38th nationally.

The Tiger duo took the first set, 6-2 after breaking things open early with a couple of early breaks and getting out to a 4-1 lead. Ole Miss closed to 4-2, but Bek and Wong cleaned up the next two games, winning the set.

The Rebel tandem took advantage of some Tiger errors and were more aggressive in the second set, as they evened the match with a 6-3 win.

But the Tigers were not to be upset, as the nation’s No. 6 doubles team rattled off four straight games to take a 4-1 lead, and again closed with a 6-2 win.

Results: NCAA Doubles Championships – First Round – Stanford, CA Taube Tennis Center – Stadium Court 3 – May 26, 2011 (5-8) #6 Bek Wong (CU) def. #38 Boxx/Guthrie (MISS), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2