CLEMSON, S.C. – For the 17th year in a row, and the 19th time in 21 seasons under Head Coach Nancy Harris, the Clemson women’s tennis team received an invitation to play in the NCAA Championships. This is the third consecutive year that the Tigers are headed to Nashville, Tenn. for the NCAA First & Second Rounds, as they also traveled to host-Vanderbilt in 2016 and 2017. Clemson faces Ohio State in the first round in Nashville on Friday, May 11 at 11 a.m. CT.
Joining Clemson in the Nashville Regional are fellow at-large selection Ohio State (14-8), Southwestern Athletics Conference Champion Alabama State (12-8) and regional-host, SEC Champion and No. 1 National Seed Vanderbilt (22-3). The Tigers face the Buckeyes in the first round on May 11, and the winner advances to play the winner of Vanderbilt and Alabama State in the second round on May 12.
The Tigers have a 13-13 overall record and were 6-8 in ACC play in 2018. Clemson won two matches against top-25 competition, including a crucial 4-3 upset at No. 22 Virginia on April 20. Of the team’s 13 losses, eight came against opponents ranked in the top-25, which includes four against teams ranked in the top four in the nation.
Senior and three-year captain Daniela Ruiz has clinched the victory for the Tigers in the team’s last three wins, including the upset over the Cavaliers two weeks ago. Junior Marie-Alexandre Leduc is ranked 23rd nationally in singles according to the poll release on April 24, while she and fellow junior Fernanda Navarro are ranked 20th in doubles. As a duo, Leduc and Navarro are 19-8 overall and 11-5 in dual matches, with four wins against nationally-ranked opponents.
The NCAA tournament bid is the 17th in a row for the Clemson women’s tennis program and the 26th in program history, as well as the 19th in 21 seasons under Harris. In the last 14 seasons, Clemson has reached the Round of 16 or further 10 times, including the program’s two best finishes of all time, Final Four appearances in 2004 and 2005. Harris is the only coach in the history of Clemson Athletics to lead a Clemson women’s program to an NCAA Final Four.
