Women?s Tennis Earns No. 22 Ranking in Initial 2013 Poll

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson women’s tennis team earned a No. 22 team ranking on the 2013 Intercollegiate Tennis Association initial poll. Three sophomores also earned preseason singles rankings for the Tigers, who open up play on Jan. 18 with the Clemson Winter Classic.

This is the ninth straight season that Clemson has started the year in the top 25. The Tigers are coming off a 16-10 season in which they narrowly missed an upset of No. 4 Georgia in the NCAA Tournament second round. Clemson has made 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances overall.

Yana Koroleva earned the highest singles ranking, coming in at No. 32 in the nation. She played in the top spot for Clemson in the fall, earning wins over three top-50 players, including a straight set victory over then-No. 18 Brynn Boren of Tennessee. Koroleva did not play in the 2012 season, but is expected to compete at the top of the lineup this season.

Romy Koelzer earned her first career ranking, checking in at No. 69 overall. Kölzer, who hails from Betzdorf, Germany, went 7-3 in the fall, with her top win coming against Marianne Jodoin of Duke, who was ranked 27th. Kölzer advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Carolina Regionals, and also claimed the Furman Fall Classic flight five championship. She owns a 25-11 career record.

Beatrice Gumulya, who has quietly been one of Clemson’s most consistent players, also earned her highest career ranking at No. 77 in the nation. She went 5-1 in the fall, and holds a career mark of 21-7. Gumulya had a streak of 16 straight wins snapped in her final match of the fall to the nation’s 26th-ranked player, a three-setter that featured two tiebreak sets.