Women’s Tennis Falls To Stanford, 4-0, In NCAA Round Of 16

May 15, 2008

TULSA, OK – The Clemson women’s tennis team fell to fourth-seeded Stanford, 4-0, on Thursday in the 2008 NCAA Championships at the Michael T. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, OK. The loss snapped the Tigers’ 12-match winning streak and ended their season with a 17-10 record.

The Cardinal advanced to the quaterfinals of the national tournament while improving to 22-4 on the year.

Inclement weather pushed back the starting time of Thursday’s match and then caused a 45-minute delay once doubles action began. Stanford jumped out to early leads on courts two and three and quickly resumed form following the break. Celia Durkin and Carolyn McVeign won the first five games and went on to claim the 8-3 victory over Ina Hadziselimovic and Alexandra Luc at no. 3.

The Cardinal’s 49th-ranked team of Whitney Deason and Jessica Nguyen then defeated Estefania Balda and Federica van Adrichem, 8-0, at the second position to clinch the doubles point and a 1-0 lead for Stanford. Hilary Barte and Lindsey Burdette were leading at no. 1 over Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge before their match was called.

McVeigh put Stanford on top, 2-0, with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Laurianne Henry at the sixth singles position. Henry led, 3-2, in the second set before the Stanford player won the next two games to take control of the match.

Mijacika, ranked #2, then fell to third-ranked Barte at no. 1 to widen the deficit to 3-0. Burdette clinched the match for the Cardinal with a straight set win over Hadziselimovic at the fourth position. Hadziselimovic had trailed 5-3 in the opening set but tied the frame at 5-5. Burdette won the next two games for the 7-5 victory and then posted the 6-1 win in the second set to secure Stanford’s place in the quarterfinals.

Salge and Van Adrichem had each won the first set at the no. 3 and no. 5 positions, respectively. Salge had erased a 5-3 deficit in the first set to post the 7-5 victory. She was then trailing, 4-1, in the second set. At the second position, Nguyen took the first set off of Balda, 6-1, but lead by a narrow 5-4 margin in the second.

Mijacika and Salge will continue their seasons next week in the individual tournaments, which will also be held in Tulsa. Mijacika is the #2-seed in the singles bracket and will partner with Salge in the NCAA Doubles Championship. Singles is set to begin on Wednesday, May 21 while doubles will commence on Thursday, May 22.

#4 Stanford 4, #13 Clemson 0

Doubles 1. #4 Mijacika/Salge (CU) vs. #9 Barte/Burdette (Stan), dnf 2. #49 Deason/Nguyen (Stan) def. Balda/Van Adrichem (CU), 8-0 3. Durkin/McVeigh (Stan) def. Hadziselimovic/Luc (CU), 8-3 Order of Finish – 3, 2

Singles 1. #3 Hilary Barte (Stan) def. #2 Ani Mijacika (CU), 6-3, 6-1 2. #113 Estefania Balda (CU) vs. #13 Jessica Nguyen (Stan), dnf 3. #59 Carol Salge (CU) vs. #65 Celia Durkin (Stan), dnf 4. *#66 Lindsey Burdette (Stan) def. Ina Hadziselimovic (CU), 7-5, 6-1 5. Federica van Adrichem (CU) vs. Whitney Deason (Stan), dnf 6. #95 Carolyn McVeigh (Stan) def. #115 Laurianne Henry (CU), 6-3, 6-4 Order of Finish – 6, 1, 4 * – clinched match