SURPRISE, Ariz. – Marie-Alexandre Leduc and Fernanda Navarro accomplished a feat that no other duo in Clemson women’s tennis history has done before, winning the Doubles National Championship at the 2018 Oracle ITA Fall National Championships on Sunday. The duo went 5-0 with four wins over top-26 opponents, including two upsets over top-10 teams, en route to making Clemson tennis history on Nov. 7-11 at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz.
Leduc (Saguenay, Quebec) and Navarro (Mexico City, Mexico), ranked 16th nationally in the ITA fall preseason doubles rankings, opened the tournament on Nov. 7 in the Round of 32 with a win over Auburn’s Graver and Russo, 1-6, 6-4, 1-0(9). In the Round of 16 on Nov. 8, the pair upset the No. 4-Seed and seventh-ranked tandem of Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson of LSU, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(6).
In the quarterfinals on Nov. 9, Leduc and Navarro recorded their second-consecutive top-10 upset, downing ninth-ranked Megan Kauffman and Lauren Proctor of Winthrop, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(5). The Tigers took down the top doubles duo from South Carolina, Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins, ranked 20th nationally, by a score of 7-6(8), 6-4, in the semifinals, to secure a spot in the finals.
In Sunday’s title match, Leduc and Navarro defeated Pepperdine’s Ashley Lahey and Evgeniya Levashova, 7-6(5), 6-2, to claim the championship.
With the win, Leduc and Navarro secured their spot in Clemson history, as the Tiger tennis program, which has a storied history, particularly recently in doubles play, has never before seen a duo win the fall national championship. Former Tigers Beatrice Gumulya and Jessy Rompies reached the semifinals of the ITA Indoor Nationals in 2014, while Josipa Bek and Keri Wong were the national runners-up in 2010. In 2017, the Oracle ITA Fall National Championship replaced the ITA Indoor National Championship as the culminating event of the fall college tennis season, which features the nation’s top singles and doubles players.
Clemson Doubles Results at 2018 Oracle ITA Fall National Championship
Nov. 7, 2018 – Round of 32#16 Marie-Alexandre Leduc-Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) def. Sophie Graver-Taylor Russo (Auburn), 1-6, 6-4, 1-0(9)
Nov. 8, 2018 – Round of 16#16 Marie-Alexandre Leduc-Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) def. #7 (No. 4-Seed) Jessica Golovin-Eden Richardson (LSU), 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(6)
Nov. 9, 2018 – Quarterfinals#16 Marie-Alexandre Leduc-Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) def. #9 Megan Kauffman-Lauren Proctor (Winthrop), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(5)
Nov. 10, 2018 – Semifinals#16 Marie-Alexandre Leduc-Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) def. #20 Mia Horvit-Ingrid Gamarra Martins (South Carolina), 7-6(8), 6-4
Nov. 11, 2018 – Championship#16 Marie-Alexandre Leduc-Fernanda Navarro (Clemson) def. #26 Ashley Lahey-Evgeniya Levashova, (Pepperdine), 7-6(5), 6-2
