Clemson Women’s Tennis To Begin Play In ACC Championships

April 16, 2008

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson women’s tennis team will begin play in the 2008 ACC Championships on Friday, Apr. 18. The Tigers (12-9, 8-3 ACC) finished fourth in the ACC standings to earn a bye for the first round of the tournament and will face the winner of Thursday’s match between no. 5 seed North Carolina and 12th seeded Maryland.

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This year’s event is being held at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, FL.

The Tigers, winners of their last seven matches, will look to extend the streak while six players are also riding winning streaks of at least six straight in singles action. In singles play, Carol Salge extended her streak to 10 straight last weekend, dropping just three games to her Terp and Eagle opponents. Ani Mijacika, who did not play over the Apr. 12-13 weekend, has won eight straight matches, while Ina Hadziselimovic’s streak reached nine with a pair of wins last weekend.

Mijacika, the nation’s top singles player, boasts a 25-5 overall record with 14 wins over ranked opponents this year. The sophomore standout is also ranked 10th in the doubles poll with Carol Salge. The duo has compiled an 11-2 record at the no. 1 position this spring.

Clemson’s ACC Tournament History Clemson has won the conference crown seven times with the most recent coming in 2004. Overall, the Tigers own a 26-20 record at the ACC Championships with a 10-9 mark under current head coach Nancy Harris. Since the tournament changed to its current format in 1990, Clemson has made 11 semifinals appearances and advanced to the finals four times. Last year, the #1-seeded Tigers won a 4-0 decision over Virginia in the second round before falling to fourth-seeded Miami, 4-3, in the semifinals.

Clemson has earned the #4 seed three times in history. In 1995, the Tigers fell to fifth-seeded NC State in the second round (5-4) and suffered a 4-3 loss to #5-seed Georgia Tech in the 2002 tournament. In 2006, Clemson defeated fifth-seed North Carolina, 4-1, in the second round before falling to top-seeded Georgia Tech, 4-1.

The 2008 event could play out similar to the 2006 tournament, as the Tigers could face North Carolina on Friday. If Clemson were to defeat the Tar Heels, Georgia Tech would be a possible semifinal opponent.

Tigers Versus North Carolina, Maryland Clemson owns a 6-3 record over North Carolina in ACC Tournament matches. In the last meeting, the fourth-seeded Tigers defeated the #5-seed Tar Heels by a 4-1 margin in the second round. Overall, Clemson leads the series score, 34-5, with a 10-4 record on neutral courts. North Carolina won this season’s match, 4-3, in Chapel Hill, NC on Mar. 22.

The Tigers and Terps have met just twice in the conference championships with Clemson winning both match-ups. The Tigers defeated Maryland in the second round of the 1996 event, 5-0, and then swept the Terps, 4-0, en route to their 2004 ACC title. Clemson also won the regular season match-up on Apr. 12 (6-1) to improve to 26-3 all-time against the Terps.