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No. 12 Tigers Stifle Upset Bid by No. 28 Maryland

No. 12 Tigers Stifle Upset Bid by No. 28 MarylandNo. 12 Tigers Stifle Upset Bid by No. 28 Maryland

April 3, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson dropped the doubles point, but steadied in singles play, winning five of six matches for a 5-2 win over No. 28 Maryland in a women’s tennis match on Sunday at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. It was the seventh straight win for Clemson (17-5, 5-2 ACC) overall and completed a weekend sweep of Boston College and Maryland.

The Terps (12-5, 2-5 ACC) were coming off a 4-3 upset win over No. 11 Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Friday, and came in with little fear of the Tigers, who now hold a 29-3 mark against them all-time. The Terps claimed the doubles point, but dropped three-set matches at flights one and two, and Clemson took straight-set wins at flights four, five and six.

Clemson now prepares to take on No. 9 Baylor on Wednesday at 1:00 pm at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.

Maryland took a 1-0 lead after posting wins at flights one and two. The 39th-ranked tandem of Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Jordaan Sanford defeated Clemson’s number-one ranked team of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong, 8-5. The Terps were able to break Bek’s serve on all three chances in propelling them to the win.

Masha Belaya and Klara Vyskocilova turned a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead and cruised to an 8-5 win at flight three for Clemson’s only doubles win.

In singles, Caroline Magnusson improved to 5-2 in ACC play with her 6-1, 6-0 win at flight five against Julia Huschke. It was Magnusson’s second straight win and her 16th of her sophomore season.

Belaya then followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win at flight six over Jordan Hansbrough to give Clemson a 2-1 lead. It was her sixth straight win overall, and she improved to 5-2 in ACC play and 14-6 in dual matches.

Nelly Ciolkowski defeated Welma Luus, 6-4, 6-4 at flight four to bring the Tigers to within one of the victory.

Like she’s done ten previous times this season, Bek fought off a first set loss to win her match, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 over 32nd-ranked Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, who entered the match 14-1 on the season. Bek improved to 11-2 in three-set matches on the season, and is now 28-7 all-time, a school record. It was her 90th career singles win overall, moving her into a tie for eighth in school history.

After Bek’s clinch, Maryland’s Ana Belzunce took the Terps’ only singles win, a 7-6(7), 6-3 win over Klara Vyskocilova.

Keri Wong closed down the scoring with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 win over Jordaan Sanford at flight two. Wong trailed, 5-2 in the second set before taking a 6-5 lead, but Sanford won the tiebreaker and forced a third set, which Wong controlled.

Clemson plays three matches against top ten teams this coming week, as the play host to No. 9 Baylor on Wednesday, and travel to No. 3 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke next weekend.

No. 12 Clemson (17-5, 5-2 ACC) def. No. 28 Maryland (12-5, 2-5 ACC), 5-2 April 3, 2011 – Hoke Sloan Tennis Center – Clemson, SC

Doubles: 1. #39 Sanchez-Quintanar/Sanford (MD) def. #1 Bek/Wong (CU), 8-5 2. Luus/Belzunce (MD) def. Magnusson/Ciolkowski (CU), 8-1 3. Belaya/Vyskocilova (CU) def. Hansbrough/Huschke (MD), 8-5 Order of Finish: 2,3,1

Singles: 1. #10 Josipa Bek (CU) def. #32 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (MD), 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 2. #51 Keri Wong (CU) def. Jordaan Sanford (MD), 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 3. Ana Belzunce (MD) def. #100 Klara Vyskocilova (CU), 7-6(7), 6-3 4. Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) def. Welma Luus (MD), 6-4, 6-4 5. Caroline Magnusson (CU) def. Julia Huschke (MD), 6-1, 6-0 6. Maria Belaya (CU) def. Jordan Hansbrough (MD), 6-4, 6-2 Order of Finish: 5,6,4,1*,3,2