Tigers Lose Close Battle at Notre Dame Friday

Box Score (PDF)

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In an ACC women’s tennis battle, in which the final three singles matches on court went to three sets, the Clemson women’s tennis team was unable to overcome, falling to Notre Dame 5-2 on Friday afternoon on the road in Notre Dame, Ind. With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 5-6 (1-2 ACC), while the Irish improved to 8-2 (2-0 ACC).

The nation’s No. 1 doubles team of Tiger seniors Marie-Alexandre Leduc and Fernanda Navarro picked up a 6-3 win at the top slot to improve to 8-1 on the season. Unfortunately, Clemson’s No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams were bested by Notre Dame, giving the team doubles point to the Irish.

Notre Dame took a 3-0 lead with wins on Courts 4 and 5, in that order, to open singles play. Sophomore Alex Angyalosy earned the first Clemson point of the match, defeating her opponent 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. Leduc pulled the Tigers to within one point with a three-set win (6-0, 6-7(2), 6-3) at No. 1 singles. The matches at No. 2 and No. 3 singles were both very close, but Notre Dame ultimately won both in three sets. Of the six sets on Courts 2 and 3, four went to tiebreaks.

HEAD COACH NANCY HARRIS QUOTE
“Our Tigers rallied, after losing the doubles point, at four of the singles positions, 1, 2, 3 and 5. We won at No. 1 and 5, and our No. 2 and 3 players gave our team a chance for a victory. Our No. 4 player had to stop the match early due to an on-court injury. I’m proud of our Tigers for never giving up despite the uphill challenge.”

OF NOTE

• Alex Angyalosy won her match at No. 6 singles by a score of 6-4, 6-0. With the win, Angyalosy improved to 2-1 in ACC singles matches.
• Marie-Alexandre Leduc picked up a nice win at No. 1 singles, defeating the Irish’s top singles player, Zoe Spence, 6-0, 6-7(2), 6-3. After losing the second set in a tiebreak, Leduc won the third 6-3.
• Two days after ascending to No. 1 in the national rankings in doubles, Leduc and Fernanda Navarro took a 6-3 win over Notre Dame to improve to 3-0 in ACC play, 8-1 in dual matches and 20-4 on the season.

UP NEXT
The Tigers remain on the road for a Sunday, Feb. 24 match at Louisville. First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Cardinals’ Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.