No. 12 Clemson Downs Virginia Tech on Senior Day

April 17, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – The No. 12 Clemson women’s tennis team closed the 2011 regular season with a 7-0 win over No. 52 Virginia Tech on Sunday. The Tigers (18-9, 6-5 ACC) honored senior Laurianne Henry before the match, and she didn’t disappoint, winning both her doubles and singles match on the day.

Clemson got five straight-set singles wins, and a three-set win to complete the sweep of the Hokies, moving to 12-3 all-time against Virginia Tech.

Clemson will await its seeding for the ACC Tournament, which should come later Sunday evening.

The Tigers took the doubles point for the first time in seven matches. Caroline Magnusson took their match at flight two, 8-3, while Henry and Nelly Ciolkowski won, 8-6, at flight three to clinch the point.

Masha Belaya came up just short against No. 45 Yasmin Hamza and Holly Johnson. After trailing, 6-3, the Tiger duo took a 7-6 lead. But Virginia tech held serve and tied it at 7-7, and they played a tiebreaker since the point had already been decided. Clemson led 6-5, but Belaya couldn’t put it away, and Virginia tech ran off the next two point for an 8-6 tiebreak win and the 8-7 victory.

In singles, Clemson got off to a great start again, winning the first set at all six positions.

Freshman Klara Vyskocilova gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead win a 6-1, 6-0 win over Shannon Betts at flight three. Belaya extended the lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 win at flight six over Courtney Rauscher, closing her regular season record at 22-11.

Magnusson clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Holly Johnson at flight four. Henry finished some 20 seconds later with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Isel Martinez-Marcos for the 5-0 lead.

Nelly Ciolkowski fought the heat to hold off Martha Blakely in a third set super-tiebreak 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6), and No. 50 Keri Wong held off a second set charge from No. 78 Yasmin Hamza for the 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory at flight one.

The win was the fourth straight for Wong, and she improved to 9-6 against ranked opponents.

The Tigers will travel to Cary, NC next week for the ACC Tournament, which takes place from April 21-24.

Complete Results:

No. 12 Clemson (18-9, 6-5 ACC) def. No. 52 Virginia Tech (10-14, 2-9 ACC), 7-0 April 17, 2011 – Hoke Sloan Tennis Center – Clemson, SC

Doubles: 1. #45 Hamza/Johnson (VT) def. Wong/Belaya (CU), 8-7 (6) 2. Magnusson/Vyskocilova (CU) def. Blakely/Rauscher (VT), 8-3 3. Ciolkowski/Henry (CU) def. Lauten/Matinez-Marcos (VT), 8-6 Order of finish: 2,3,1

Singles: 1. #50 Keri Wong (CU) def. #78 Yasmin Hamza (VT), 6-3, 7-6(2) 2. Nelly Ciolkowski (CU) def. Martha Blakely (VT), 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6) 3. #119 Klara Vyskocilova (CU) def. Shannon Betts (VT), 6-1, 6-0 4. Caroline Magnusson (CU) def. Holly Johnson (VT), 6-2, 6-4 5. Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Isel Martinez-Marcos (VT), 6-4, 6-4 6. Masha Belaya (CU) def. Courtney Rauscher (VT), 6-2, 6-2 Order of Finish: 3,6,4,5,2,1