Tigers Roll to Two Victories in Duckworth Family Tennis Facility Opener

CLEMSON, S.C. – In the first matches in program history held at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Saturday, the Clemson men’s tennis team defeated The Citadel twice, 7-0 and 6-1, respectively. The Tigers went 6-0 in doubles matches and 11-1 in singles matches on the day, to open the 2019 season at 2-0.

Clemson 7, The Citadel 0
The Tigers swept the Bulldogs, winning all three doubles and all six singles matches. In doubles play, Simon Baudry and Yizhou Liu won 6-0 at No. 1, before Mike Agee and Pierre-Louis Dodens clinched the point with a 6-1 win at No. 3. Three new Tigers, Teodor Giusca at No. 3, Agee at No. 6 and Dodens at No. 4 cemented the team win, with Dodens blanking his Citadel opponent 6-0, 6-0 to clinch the victory.

Clemson 6, The Citadel 1
Agee and Dodens won 6-1 at No. 3 to open doubles play, before Baudry and Liu rolled to a 6-0 win on Court 1 to claim the doubles point for Clemson. After dropping a match at No. 6 singles, the Tigers won the next five straight to secure the 6-1 victory. Carlos Kelaidis won 6-1, 6-1 at No 4, Giusca won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 and then Baudry clinched, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1 singles.

Photos by Lawton Hilliard:

“It was so awesome to play our first match in the new Duckworth Family Tennis Center! Our team and staff feel so fortunate to be able to train and play matches in one of the top tennis centers in the nation!" said Head Coach John Boetsch. "Today was a great start to our season and we gained ground in doubles and singles. I was pleased with our discipline as a team and how we competed throughout the day. It was an honor to play Clemson Hall of Famer and former head coach Chuck Kriese and his well-coached Citadel team to open the season and facility.”

OF NOTE

• The Citadel was an appropriate first opponent for the Tigers to face in the historic opening of the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility, as the Bulldogs are coached by Chuck Kriese, the winningest coach in Clemson and ACC history with 685 victories from 1975-2008 and a 2009 inductee into the Clemson Hall of Fame.
• Prior to the match, Nathan Thompson, a former Tiger All-American and ACC Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, and the current head coach of the tennis teams at Southern Wesleyan University, hit the inaugural first serve.
• In the first match of the day, Clemson lost just 10 games in singles play, out of the 72 total games played.
• Five Tiger singles players are now 2-0 on the young season, Mike Agee, Simon Baudry, Teodor Giusca, Carlos Kelaidis and Yizhou Liu.
• Junior and Arizona State transfer Pierre-Louis Dodens and freshmen Agee and Giusca all won their first career singles matches in Clemson uniform on Saturday.
• Dodens did not lose a game in singles play, winning 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles in the first match of the day.
• Agee finished the day’s second match with an exciting third-set tiebreak victory at No. 5 singles. After trailing 0-3 to open the first set, Agee came from behind to win 6-3, dropped the second, and then traded points in the third set before winning 7-6(3).
• Clemson doubles teams were undefeated (6-0) on the day, with the Tigers winning three of the six matches by a score of 6-0.
• Baudry and Liu did not lose a game at No. 1 doubles on the day. Giusca and Kelaidis at No. 2 and Agee and Dodens at No. 3 also improved to 2-0 in doubles play.

UP NEXT
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 26 when they host Appalachian State at 10 a.m. and Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m. at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility.