Eidukonyte Falls in #NIIC Title Match Sunday in New York

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. – Senior Joana Eidukonyte’s title run fell just short on Sunday in the championship match of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. After winning four matches and defeating two top-eight seeds in the first four rounds, the native of Vilnius, Lithuania dropped the title match to Francesca DiLorenzo of Ohio State.

In Thursday’s first round of the tournament, which was played at the site of the U.S. Open, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Eidukonyte downed Catherine Harrison of UCLA, 7-6(6), 6-3. She went on to upset No. 5-seed Sinead Lohan of Miami in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-1 in the Round of 16 on Friday, and followed that with another two-set victory over Jasmine Lee of Mississippi State, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.

Eidukonyte faced No. 7-seed Belinda Woolcock of Florida in the semifinals on Saturday, and earned a three-set win, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. DiLorenzo started quickly in Sunday morning’s championship match, and despite battling to the end, Eidukonyte lost in two sets, 6-3, 6-1, to the rookie from Ohio State, who had previously knocked off the No. 3-, 6- and 8-seeded players in the singles draw.

The National Indoor Intercollegiates conclude the fall season for the Clemson women’s tennis season. The Tigers will be back in action when they open the spring season on Jan. 16 and 17 at the Duckworth Winter Classic in Clemson, S.C.