Tiger Women’s Tennis To Begin Play At Conference Championships

April 15, 2009

2009 ACC Women’s Tennis Championships Information:Complete Notes | Tournament Bracket | ACC Tennis Championships Site | Tournament Agates

ACC Select Coverage:

Saturday, April 18 at 6 p.m. Sunday, April19 at 4 p.m.

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson women’s tennis team will begin defense of its conference title this week as the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship is set to kickoff on Thursday at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, NC. The Tigers earned the number three seed and a first-round by for this year’s tournament and will take on the winner of sixth-seeded North Carolina and #11-seed Maryland at 3:00 pm on Friday afternoon.

Clemson captured the 2008 title as the fourth seed for the program’s eighth ACC Championship. The Tigers posted a 9-2 record during the conference regular season (17-6 overall) to tie Georgia Tech in standings, but Clemson received the higher seed due to its 4-3 win over the Yellow Jackets in February.

Ani Mijacika leads the Tiger squad with a 28-7 overall singles record while freshman Josipa Bek is riding a 10-match winning streak to hit the 30-win mark.

Should Clemson advance past the quarterfinals, fans will be able to watch the matches on ACC Select. Although the broadcasts will not be live, free On-Demand coverage will be available at 6:00 pm on Saturday and at 4:00 pm on Sunday.

Clemson’s ACC Tournament History Clemson has won the conference crown eight times in program history, including the 2008 title at the Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, FL. Overall, the Tigers own a 29-20 record at the ACC Championships with a 13-9 mark under head coach Nancy Harris. Since the tournament changed to its current format in 1990, Clemson has made 12 semifinals appearances and advanced to the finals five times. Last year, the fourth-seeded Tigers had an impressive run to the championship. Clemson defeated North Carolina in the quarterfinals by a 4-2 margin before knocking off top-seeded and then-ranked #2 Georgia Tech, 4-1, in the semifinals. The Tigers then eked out the 4-3 victory over #2 seed Duke in the finals.

Clemson has earned the number three seed four times in its history and has reached the semifinals of tournament each time. However, only once have the Tigers advanced past the round of four, which was during the 1987 event when they won their second title. Clemson’s most recent run as the third seed was in 2005 when the Tigers defeated Wake Forest in the quarterfinals before falling to #2-seed Miami.

The Tigers Against North Carolina, Maryland With a win over the Tar Heels last Saturday (Apr. 11), Clemson widened its advantage over North Carolina to 36-13 in a series that dates back to 1978. The Tar Heels have been the Tigers’ most frequent opponent over the years and a quarterfinals match-up would be the 50th meeting in history between the two schools. Clemson’s 36 wins over North Carolina are the second most over any single program with the record being 39 wins in 42 matches versus Furman.

A contest against Maryland would have Clemson looking for its 12th straight victory over the Terps. The Tigers won the regular season match-up by a 7-0 margin at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center to improve to 27-3 all-time in the series.