Mijacika, Salge To Begin Play In NCAA Individual Championships On Wednesday

May 20, 2008

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson women’s tennis players Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge will continue their 2008 seasons in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, beginning on Wednesday, May 21 at the Michael T. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, OK. Both will compete in singles and will partner as the #4-seed in the doubles bracket.

Mijacika is the #2-seed in the singles draw and will face Anastasia Petukhova of Fresno State in the opening round at 12:30 pm (EDT) on Wednesday. The Tiger sophomore boasts a 28-7 record for the year and has ranked in the top five in every Fila/ITA Tennis singles poll this spring. She has six wins over players ranked in the top 10 with 17 total wins over ranked opponents.

Mijacika will be making her second appearance in the national tournament. She fell in the opening round of singles play in 2007 but reached the semifinals in the doubles tournament with Federica van Adrichem to garner All-America honors.

Also competing in the singles bracket is senior Carol Salge. She will match up against Northwestern’s Samantha Murray at 6:00 pm (EDT) on Wednesday. Salge also earned a bid to the 2006 event, suffering a loss in the first round. The native of San Roque, Brazil owns a 15-10 record in 2007-08 but has not lost a match since Feb. 27. She clinched Clemson’s ACC title, eking out a three-set win against Duke in the championship match. The win was her only decision of the post-season.

Mijacika and Salge have partnered 18 times during the spring season with a 15-2 record. They are riding an 11-match winning streak during which the duo has defeated four top-10 opponents. The tandem has been ranked in the top 20 since entering the polls on Mar. 4, rising to the #4 listing in the Apr. 20 rankings.

The doubles tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, May 22. The Tiger duo will face the team of Megan Falcon and Mykala Hedberg from LSU in the round of 32.