University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
No. 12 Clemson Outlasts No. 19 Carolina, 5-2
April 11, 2009 | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2009
CHAPEL HILL --- North Carolina junior Sanaz Marand picked up a three-set win over Clemson's Ani Mijacika, the nation's No. 1-ranked singles player, but the No. 19 Tar Heels could not overcome the depth of the No. 12 Lady Tigers in a 5-2 Senior Day loss Saturday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Marand, who notched her second top-10 win of the weekend and her third career win over a national No. 1, also teamed with Sophie Grabinski to defeat the No. 8 duo of Mijacika and Keri Wong at the top doubles position.
UNC (16-9, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped the doubles point for the third straight match, as the Tar Heels squandered early leads at both No. 2 and No. 3. No. 61 Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang raced out to a 5-2 lead at No. 2 before falling, 8-5, while Meg Fanjoy and Laura Reichert lost 8-6 at No. 3 to put the Lady Tigers up 1-0.
Sophomore Jelena Durisic continued her strong play of late, opening singles action with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 101 Estefania Balda at No. 5, before the visitors pushed the lead back to 3-1. Clemson (19-6, 9-2 ACC) got its first singles victory from No. 12 Josipa Bek at No. 2, with No. 102 Wong following with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win at No. 4.
The final three matches to finish would each go three sets, with Carolina cutting the Clemson lead to 3-2 with Marand's standout win at the top of lineup first off the court. The victory, Marand's seventh in a row, gives the Katy, Texas, junior a 9-2 ACC singles record and her fifth win over a top-50 opponent this spring.
Fittingly, it was a pair of Tar Heel seniors left on the court trying to complete the Senior Day rally. Austin Smith took the first set from No. 120 Ina Hadziselimovic at No. 3 and had a match point at 5-4 in the second. But the junior from Bosnia fought back to force a tiebreak and ultimately a third set, winning 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-5, to secure the win.
Meg Fanjoy rallied from down a set at No. 6 against Laurianne Henry, but ultimately came up short, falling in a third-set tiebreak.
Next up for UNC is the ACC Tournament in nearby Cary, N.C. The pairings and schedule for that event, which will be held at the Cary Tennis Park, are expected to be announced Monday.
No. 12 Clemson 5, No. 19 North Carolina 2
Doubles
1. No. 4 Marand/Grabinski (NC) def. No. 8 Mijacika/Wong (CU), 8-5
2. No. 27 Bek/Hadziselimovic (CU) def. No. 61 Smith/Tsang (NC), 8-5
3. Luc/Henry (CU) def. Reichert/Fanjoy (NC), 8-6
Order of Finish - 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. No. 61 Ani Mijacika (CU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
2. No. 12 Josipa Bek (CU) def. No. 63 Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) def. Keri Wong (CU) def. Estefania Balda (CU), 6-3, 6-3
6. Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Meg Fanjoy (NC), 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (0)
Order of Finish - 5, 2, 4, 1, 3, 6
Players Mentioned
