Clemson Men’s Tennis Travels to New York for Weekend Matches

Feb. 13, 2004

Clemson, SC — The 27th-ranked Clemson men’s tennis team will travel to West Point, NY this weekend to face off against Army, Princeton, and Columbia in dual matches. The Tigers meet Columbia at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, and will meet Army at 7 p.m. that same evening. Clemson will face Princeton on Sunday afternoon.

Clemson is currently 6-2 on the season after splitting two matches last weekend. The Tigers defeated Toledo by a score of 7-0 before falling 6-1 to 15th-ranked Ohio State. Clemson junior Nathan Thompson is currently ranked 31st in the nation in singles competition according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Poll. Thompson pairs up with sophomore Jarmaine Jenkins to form the No. 17 ranked doubles team in the ITA poll. Clemson is led by head coach Chuck Kriese in his 29th season. Kriese holds a 571-358 record, and is ranked as the sixth winningest active coach in NCAA Division I. The two-time National Coach-of-the-Year has led the Tigers to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Army enters the weekend with a 2-0 record and is coming off two 7-0 victories last weekend against Connecticut and St. Peter’s. The Black Knights earned straight set victories in 11 of the 12 singles pairings in the two matches. Senior John Sabia holds an 11-3 singles mark at the number one singles position. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Princeton is currently 0-2 for the 2004 season after dropping decisions to #75 Central Florida (4-3) and Florida State (5-2). Princeton’s Hans Plukas rallied to defeat Chris Westerhof of Florida State 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Plukas then joined with Andrew Lieu to down Joe Bassett and Jarrod Owen 8-3 in doubles action. Clemson last faced Princeton in 2002, and holds a 5-2 all-time record against the Tigers.

The Columbia Lions will meet Clemson for its 2004 season opener. Though Columbia lost its top player from 2003 Oscar Chow, who reached the final eight of the National Indoor Tournament and the Outdoor NCAA Tournament, the Lions return a core group from last year’s team. Columbia will be led at the number one singles position by Akshay Rao, a former Indian Junior National Champion. The two teams last met during the 1970 season, with Clemson holding a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.