CARY, N.C. – It was a close battle, with five of the six singles matches going to three sets, but NC State avenged a regular season loss to the Clemson women’s tennis team, defeating the Tigers 4-2 in the second round of the ACC Championships in Cary, N.C. on Thursday morning. With the loss, the 40th-ranked and No. 9-seeded Tigers dropped to 13-13 overall, while the 38th-ranked and No. 8-seeded Wolfpack improved to 17-13.
The Wolfpack claimed the doubles point, winning at No. 1 and 2, in that order. The Tigers’ 20th-ranked team of Marie-Alexandre Leduc and Fernanda Navarro trailed NC State’s 26th-ranked duo of Anna Rogers and Claudia Wiktorin 0-5 at No. 1, and fought back to 3-5, but could not complete the comeback, ultimately falling 6-3. Clemson’s No. 3 doubles team of Sydney Riley and Daniela Ruiz was tied 5-5 with the Wolfpack when play was abandoned.
NC State took a 2-0 lead in the match with a win at No. 3 singles, but Leduc cut the deficit in half with a win at No. 1. After dropping the first set 3-6, Leduc, ranked 23rd nationally came back to win the next two over 89th-ranked Anna Rogers, 6-2, 6-4. Ally Miller-Krasilnikov evened the team score with a three set win at No. 6 singles, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. With the remaining matches at No. 2, 4 and 5 singles all in third sets, NC State was able to edge the Tigers on Courts 5 and 4, in that order, to clinch the victory.
Clemson will now await word on a possible bid to the 2018 NCAA Championships. The selection show is set for Tuesday, May 1 at 5 p.m., and will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
