Comebacks Rule the Day as No. 13 Clemson Upends No. 11 Michigan, 4-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The 13th-ranked women’s tennis team took down No. 11 Michigan, 4-2, in the consolation rounds of the ITA Team National Indoors on Saturday in Charlottesville, VA. Sophomore Jessy Rompies secured a 7-5, 6-4 win on court six to close out the match, and upped Clemson’s record to 5-2 on the season, while the Wolverines fall to 3-2.  The Tigers fought back from numerous deficits, including singles victories from Romy Koelzer and Tristen Dewar, each of whom dropped their first set. Additionally, Beatrice Gumulya and Yana Koroleva fought off a 6-5 deficit to clinch the doubles point in a tiebreaker over the nation‘s No. 9 doubles tandem. Rompies, who won in straight sets, trailed, 4-2 in the second set before coming back to close out the match.  The team trailed, 2-1, after its top two players, Koroleva and Gumulya, took losses in singles. The rest of the lineup responded, earning victories on courts three, five, and six, and held four match points on court four.  Dewar, who lost her first set, 6-0, stormed back for a 6-4 win in the second set, and won the tiebreaker, 10-7 to tie the match. Koelzer followed just moments later with her tiebreaker win, 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.  Rompies, who jumped out to an early, 4-1 lead in the first set saw her advantage disappear, as Sara Remynse fought back to tie it up, 5-5. However, Rompies responded by winning the next two games for the first set. In the second, Rompies fell behind, 4-2, but would not lose another game en route to giving the Tigers the clinch.  Over on court four, Ani Miao had five match points, as she was in a third-set tiebreaker and had a commanding 9-4 lead over Brooke Bolender.  Clemson took the doubles point after falling behind when Dewar and Koelzer dropped their match, 6-2. Rompies and Miao on made a strong move court three, as the duo earned a 7-5 win over Ucros and Remynse to send the decision to court one, where Yana Koroleva and Beatrice Gumulya were playing the nation’s No. 9 doubles team of Emina Bektas and Bolender After surrendering an early break lead, Clemson trailed, 6-5, on Michigan’s serve, but the Tiger duo held strong and knotted the match, sending it to a tiebreaker, which they’d go on to win and clinch the point. It was the second-highest ranked win for the duo, as they knocked off top-ranked Silva Garcia and Lauren Fuller of Georgia last season.  Clemson is now 4-3 all-time against Michigan, snapping a three-match skid to the Wolverines. Michigan and Clemson had met in the ITA National site in each of the previous three seasons as well, with all three of those decisions going the Wolverines. Clemson had not defeated Michigan since the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.  The Tigers will play a third match in Charlottesville on Sunday at a to-be-determined time and opponent. Clemson had lost to No. 8 Cal on Friday in the round of 16.  Tennis Match Results Michigan vs Clemson Feb 08, 2014 at Charlottesville, Va. (Boar’s Head Sports Club) #13 Clemson 4, #11 Michigan 2 Singles competition 1. #21 Emina Bektas (MI) def. #74 Yana Koroleva (CU) 6-4, 6-4 2. #20 Ronit Yurovsky (MI) def. #44 Beatrice Gumulya (CU) 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 3. #51 Romy Koelzer (CU) def. #100 Sarah Lee (MI) 5-7, 6-4, 10-6 4. Ani Miao (CU) vs. Brooke Bolender (MI) 6-2, 3-6, 9-4, unfinished 5. #103 Tristen Dewar (CU) def. Amy Zhu (MI) 0-6, 6-4, 10-7 6. Jessy Rompies (CU) def. Sara Remynse (MI) 7-5, 6-4 Doubles competition 1. Yana Koroleva/Beatrice Gumulya (CU) def. #9 Emina Bektas/Brooke Bolender (MI) 7-6 (7-4) 2. Sarah Lee/Amy Zhu (MI) def. Romy Koelzer/Tristen Dewar (CU) 6-2 3. Ani Miao/Jessy Rompies (CU) def. Ronit Yurovsky/Kristen Dodge (MI) 7-5 Match Notes: Michigan 3-2; National ranking #11 Clemson 5-2; National ranking #13 Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,3,5,6) ITA Team National Indoor Championships – Consolation Match