Women?s Tennis NCAA Tournament Preview

ClemsonTigers.com Video Preview with Nancy Harris Tournament Information: Location: Hoke Sloan Tennis Center (Directions) Schedule:    Friday, 10 am: Vanderbilt v. Indiana | Friday, 1 pm: Clemson v. Eastern Kentucky   Saturday, 1 pm: Winner of Match 1 v. Winner of Match 2 Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for students with I.D.; Children two and under free Live Scoring: LINK CLEMSON, SC – The 13th-seeded Clemson women’s tennis team (14-7) will play Eastern Kentucky (19-6) in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships on Friday at 1:00 pm at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The winner of the match will take on the winner of Friday’s 10:00 am match between Vanderbilt (15-11) and Indiana (18-9) in the second round on Saturday at 1:00 pm.  Clemson is making a 12th straight tournament appearance, and 21st all-time, when they take the home court on Friday. The Tigers are 27-20 in NCAA play all-time. Clemson and Eastern Kentucky, the Ohio Valley Conference Champion, have never before met.  The Tigers are vying to make the NCAA Second Round for the 12th consecutive time, and ultimately advance to the Round of 16 for the sixth time in seven seasons.  Vanderbilt and Indiana each boast impressive resumes in their respective conferences. Clemson and Indiana have met 14 times in program history, with each team claiming seven wins, but they have not met since 1999. Clemson is 2-2 against Vanderbilt all-time, with the most recent meeting a 4-2 Tiger win in the ITA Indoor Tournament second round.  Three Tigers enter the match with national singles rankings, led by sophomore Yana Koroleva, who checks in at No. 16 in the nation. Liz Jeukeng (33rd) and Beatrice Gumulya (40th) are also in the top-40, and the trio have been named to the All-ACC team. They are also the first group of three Tigers to earn a bid to the NCAA Singles Championships since 1986.  No one on the current roster was on the team the last time Clemson hosted in 2010. However, sophomores Gumulya and Romy Koelzer played last season when Clemson was edged in the second round by Georgia. In fact, each of the two then-freshmen won both of their matches in the tournament. Clemson’s current roster is comprised solely of freshmen (four) and sophomores (three).  The team that advances out of the Clemson regional will advance to the Round of 16, held at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, IL, hosted by the University of Illinois.