Tigers Complete Solid First Day at USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships

Nov. 4, 2010

FLUSHING, NY – Clemson junior women’s tennis players Josipa Bek and Keri Wong were nearly perfect in the first day of action at the USTA/ITA Indoor National Championships in Flushing, NY. The duo won their doubles match, 8-1, and Bek won her singles matchup to move into the round of 16.

The event is a national tournament and features the top 16 doubles teams and 32 singles players in the nation. Players qualified for the event during their respective regional championships in October.

Josipa Bek, ranked #13 nationally, took down Atlantic Regional Champion Michaela Kissell of Marshall, 6-3, 6-1 in Round of 32 singles action. Kissell had knocked Bek out of the same tournament last year by a 6-2, 6-2 margin. Bek will advance to play Southern Cal’s Maria Sanchez, who is ranked 3 in the nation.

“I stepped on the court and knew I couldn’t lose, and she beat me last time,” said Bek. “I changed my game a little bit and stuck with my game plan. She beat me last year at Nationals, so I was familiar with how she plays. The score didn’t indicate how close it was, and I was able to finish. At nationals there is no match that is easy.”

Bek and Wong were out on the court early, starting at 9:00am on Thursday. The duo is ranked #5 nationally and are the third overall seed in the National tournament. They reached the finals of the ITA All-American Championships in early October, and are looking to cement themselves as one of the top competitors for the upcoming NCAA season.

The Tiger tandem defeated Maria Fuccillo and Rashmi Teltumbde of Virginia, 8-1 in the Round of 16. They advance to take on Valeria Pulido and Alison Ramos of Southern Cal on Friday in the national quarterfinals.

“We played well today,” said Bek. “We are enjoying New York, but when we stepped on the court and start to play, it was all business. We took advantage of their weaknesses, even though we didn’t know much about them. We just played our game.”

Live Scoring will be available through ITATennis.com.

RESULTS

DoublesRound of 16 #5 Josipa Bek/Keri Wong (CU) def. Maria Fuccillo/Rashmi Teltumbde (UVa), 8-1

SinglesRound of 32 #13 Josipa Bek (CU) def. #41 Michaela Kissell (MARSHALL), 6-3, 6-1