No. 18 Clemson Falls at No. 4 Florida

GAINESVILLE, FL – The No. 18 Clemson women’s tennis team fell at No. 4 Florida on Friday afternoon by a 6-1 score in Gainesville, FL. Clemson fell to 3-3 on the season, with all three losses coming to top-ten opponents. Florida improved to 5-1 overall and stayed unbeaten against Clemson all-time.

The Lady Tigers will play No. 13 Stanford Saturday at 12:30 in their next action.

Play was highlighted by freshman Liz Jeukeng, who knocked off the nation’s ninth-ranked player, Sofie Oyen, on court two singles. Oyen had been 17-1 in her career in dual match play and was 18-5 overall this season. Jeukeng, who is ranked 49th in the nation, improved to 5-1 on the season, and 4-1 against ranked opponents. Jeukeng downed the Florida junior, 6-2, 6-1.

Yana Koroleva fell just short in her bid to knock off No. 4 Lauren Embree on court one. After trading sets, Koroleva looked to be in control, up 5-3 in the third set. Embree held to make it 5-4, and then broke Koroleva to even it up at 5-5. Embree held yet again to take the upper hand, before Koroleva defended her serve to force the tiebreak.

The Tiger sophomore fell 7-2 in the tiebreaker to drop the match. Koroleva, ranked 26th nationally, was vying to knock off the Gator senior, who boasts a career record of 101-14, and a 70-5 record in dual matches.

Florida won the doubles point to take an early advantage. Beatrice Gumulya and Tristen Dewar defeated Danielle Collins and Olivia Janowicz on court two to give Clemson the advantage. However, Florida countered with an 8-4 win on court one and an 8-5 decision on three to take a 1-0 lead.

Jeukeng’s singles match was first to finish, as Collins and Brianna Morgan each earned straight set wins over Ani Miao and Romy Kölzer to give Florida the 3-1 advantage. The clinching match came on court four, where Alex Cercone shook off a 4-2 deficit to beat Beatrice Gumulya in a tiebreaker in the first set, and then hold on for a 6-4 win in the third st. Gumulya, who fell to 11-2, is now 22-2 in her last 24 matches, dating to last season.

Tristen Dewar took Janowicz to three sets, but the Gator junior upped her ledger to 42-6 all-time.

No. 4 Florida 6, No. 18 Clemson 1Feb. 21, 2013 – Linder Stadium, Gainesville, FL

Doubles:1. Embree/Oyen (UF) def. Koroleva/Kölzer (CU), 8-42. Gumulya/Dewar (CU) def. Collins/Janowicz (UF), 8-43. Cercone/Morgan (UF) def. Miao/Jeukeng (CU), 8-5Order of Finish: 2,1,3*

Singles:1. #4 Lauren Embree (UF) def. #26 Yana Koroleva (CU), 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (2)2. #49 Liz Jeukeng (CU) def. #9 Sofie Oyen (UF), 6-2, 6-13. #116 Alex Cercone (UF) def. #57 Beatrice Gumulya, 7-6(4), 6-44. Brianna Morgan (UF) def. Romy Kölzer (CU), 6-2, 6-25. #44 Danielle Collins (UF) def. Ani Miao (CU), 6-1, 6-46. Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. Tristen Dewar (CU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2Order of Finish: 2,4,5,3*,6,1