Clemson Women’s Tennis Team To Play Host To NCAA Regional This Weekend

May 13, 2004

CLEMSON, SC – The seventh-ranked Clemson women’s tennis team will play host to Troy State in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Women’s Tennis Regional on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. This is the 12th time in school history and the fifth time in Head Coach Nancy Harris’ seven seasons that the Tigers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It is the first time in program history that Clemson has played host to an NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament match.

ACC rival Wake Forest and in-state SEC foe South Carolina will face off in the other half of the Tigers’ draw on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Saturday’s winners will play in the second round of the tournament on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. match.

The Tigers are 22-3 so far this season, after claiming the ACC Tournament crown with wins over #45 Maryland, #14 North Carolina and #5 Duke. It was the seventh conference tournament title in history for the Tigers and the first since the 1987 season. The team also finished at the top of the regular season conference standings this season, for the eighth time overall and the first time since 1986, after completing regular season play with a perfect 8-0 record in the league. The Tigers have now won 11 consecutive matches, which is the longest winning streak since the team won the first 11 matches of the 1986 season.

Clemson has faced two of the three teams in its bracket this season, but has never played first-round opponent Troy State. Earlier this year, the Tigers scored a 4-3 victory over South Carolina in Columbia in February, then defeated Wake Forest by a score of 6-1 in March at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. All-time, Clemson is 17-21 in the series against the Gamecocks and 8-8 against South Carolina in Clemson. The Tigers hold an 18-17 edge over the Demon Deacons, including three consecutive wins against Wake Forest.

At the 2003 NCAA Championships, Clemson defeated Baylor by a score of 4-1 in the first round of the regional tournament. The Tigers fell to regional-host North Carolina by a score of 1-4 in the second round. Clemson’s best NCAA finish was in 1996, when the team won the Southeast regional with victories over South Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Tigers eventually fell to national runner-up Stanford in the round of 16.