No. 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