Women’s Tennis Wins Seventh Straight With 5-2 Victory Over #15 Florida State On Friday Afternoon

March 23, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – Estefania Balda clinched the 7th-ranked Clemson women’s tennis team’s 5-2 victory over #15 Florida State, winning a three-set battle at the flight two position at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. The Tigers are now winners of their last seven matches and boast a 13-2 overall record with a 4-0 ledger against ACC opponents.

The freshman from Guayaquil, Ecuador trailed, 3-0, to Lauren Macfarlane in the first set and rallied to post a 6-3 win in the frame. After falling in the second set, 6-4, she dominated the deciding third, posting a 6-2 decision.

Florida State dropped to 9-4 on the year with a 2-2 mark in conference action.

The Tigers fell in doubles play for just the third time this season, as Florida State claimed the number one and three matches. At flight two, Clemson’s Federica van Adrichem and Ina Hadziselimovic won easily over Miranda Foley and Carolin Wente, 8-1. They posted five straight points before allowing the Seminole team to score their first, and then won the final three points for their third victory of the season. Alexandra Luc and Maria Brito then led early at the flight three position, 4-1, before Florida State’s tandem of Lauren Macfarlane and Ania Rynarzewska rallied for three straight points to knot the score at four apiece. After the teams were tied at 6-6, the Seminole team held serve and broke the Tigers’ to post the win.

The point then came down to the number one position, which was a tight match throughout. Ani Mijacika and Carol Salge won the first two points for Clemson and then led, 6-4, over Florida State’s Nicola Slater and Jessica Wente. The 29th-ranked Seminole team then claimed the next two points to knot the score, and Florida State then took its first advantage of the match at 8-7. Mijacika and Salge broke serve to force the tie-break, but the Seminoles prevailed to record the 9-8 victory.

Four of the six singles matches then went to three sets with the Tigers posting the victory in five of them for the win. Hadziselimovic gave Clemson its first point of the afternoon, defeating Foley at flight six, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3. The Tigers then took the lead as senior Maria Brito posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Walter at the number five position. Salge then won in straight sets against Rynarzewska in the flight three match-up, 6-4, 6-2, for her first victory in nearly two months.

The final three matches then went the distance, as Balda pulled out the win at flight two for Clemson’s fourth point. Mijacika and Slater battled at the top position with all three sets being decided by a 7-5 score. Mijacika broke Slater’s serve to post the final point of the match and her 17th victory of the year.

Van Adrichem fell to Wente at flight four for the Seminoles’ only singles victory (6-3, 4-6, 4-6).

The Tigers will return to the court on Sunday morning as they welcome #9 Miami to town. The teams are slated for a 10:30 am start.

#7 Clemson 5, #15 Florida State 2 Doubles 1. #29 Slater/Walter (FSU) def. #12 Mijacika/Salge (CU), 9-8(5) 2. Hadziselimovic/van Adrichem (CU) def. Foley/Wente (FSU), 8-1 3. Macfarlane/Rynarzewska (FSU) def. #45 Alexandra Luc/Brito (CU), 8-6 Order of Finish 2, 3, 1 Singles 1. #64 Ani Mijacika (CU) def. #76 Nicola Slater (FSU), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 *2. #85 Estefania Balda (CU) def. #95 Lauren Macfarlane (FSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 3. #67 Carol Salge (CU) def. #77 Ania Rynarzewska (FSU), 6-4, 6-2 4. Jessica Wente (FSU) def. Federica van Adrichem (CU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 5. Maria Brito (CU) def. Carolin Walter (FSU), 6-3, 6-2 6. Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) def. Miranda Foley (FSU), 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 Order of Finish 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4 * – Clinched match