Tigers Fall to No. 15 Seminoles, 4-1

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Men’s Tennis program wrapped up the inaugural ‘Tiger Tennis Fest’ on Saturday afternoon with a gritty battle against No. 15 Florida State. The Tigers (10-11, 2-6 ACC) dropped a 4-1 match against the Seminoles (16-5, 6-3 ACC) to conclude a five-match homestand at Duckworth Family Tennis Facility.

The Tigers got off to a hot start in doubles with junior Max Smith and freshman Noa Vukadin sealing a 6-3 victory on court one. The duo concluded the first doubles pairing with an upset victory against the No. 14 pairing in the country in FSU’s Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc and Joshua Dous Karpenschif. Florida State’s Lyons/Connel pairing claimed a 6-4 win on court three, to force a deciding match on court two between Clemson’s Stewart Aronson/Marko Mesarovic and Florida State’s Pourroy/Rihane. The Tiger duo had things locked at 5-5, but FSU was able to ward off the Tigers to claim the final two sets and seal a 7-5 win to secure the doubles point for the Seminoles.

Florida State claimed the singles point on courts one and three after the Seminoles won both matches in two sets. Senior Ryuhei Azuma (No. 119) responded for the Tigers, clinching the first Clemson point of the day, with a single’s win on court two after taking both sets, 6-4. Florida State concluded the match with a 2-1 win on court four. Jamie Connel (FSU) took set one, 7-6, but Clemson’s Marko Mesarovic battled back to win the second set, 7-5. The Tigers’ run came to an end as Connel stifled the freshman’s attempt at a comeback with a 6-3 win of set three. With the Seminoles securing three points in singles, they clinched a 4-1 victory as courts five and six went unfinished.

The Tigers are closing in on the end of their regular season. With only four matches left before the ACC Championships, Clemson will hit the road for an ACC matchup at Notre Dame on April 5. Action is slated to begin at 4 p.m. in South Bend, Indiana.

For complete coverage of the Clemson Men’s Tennis team, follow @ClemsonMTennis on X and Instagram.

RESULTS: 

Clemson (10-11), 1 vs No. 15 Florida State University (16-5), 1

Doubles

1. Smith/Vukadin (CU) def. No. 14 Chauvinc/Karpenschif (FSU), 6-3
2. Pourroy/Rihane (FSU) def. Aronson/Mesarovic (CU), 7-5
3. Connel/Bulte (FSU) def. Abderrahman/Damm (CU), 6-4

Order of Finish: (1, 3, 2)

Singles

1. No. 4 Antoine Chauvinc (FSU) vs. No. 114 Wissam Abderrhman (CU), 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 119 Ryuhei Azuma (CU) def. Loris Pourroy (FSU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Noa Vukadin (CU), 6-3, 6-0
4. Jamie Connel (FSU) def. Marko Mesarovic (CU), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Stewart Aronson (CU) vs. Joshua Karpenschif (FSU), 3-6, 6-6 (5-3), unfinished
6. Matt Pitts (CU) vs. Alex Bulte (FSU), 6-0, 2-6, 3-0, unfinished

Order of Finish: (1, 3, 2, 4)