North Carolina
Clemson
No. 21 Tar Heels Topple No. 11 Lady Tigers, 4-2
April 17, 2009 | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2009
CARY, N.C. --- Sixth-seeded North Carolina advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Women's Tennis Championship with a 4-2 upset of third-seeded Clemson Friday afternoon at the Cary Tennis Park. Carolina got wins from the top three singles positions to go with the doubles point to set up a rematch with No. 3 Duke in Saturday's semis. Junior Katrina Tsang knocked off No. 13 Josipa Bek at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 7-6 (4), to clinch the victory.
Looking to avenge last Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Lady Tigers, Carolina (18-9) made no mistake in winning the doubles point with a pair of convincing victories. No. 3 Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand defeated No. 6 Ani Mijacika and Keri Wong at the top position for the second time in seven days before Austin Smith and Tsang dispatched No. 33 Bek and Ina Hadziselimovic at No. 2 to seal the point.
UNC and Clemson (17-7) each won three first sets to open singles play, with the Tar Heels holding the early advantage at the top of the lineup. The Lady Tigers notched the first singles point to draw even with the Tar Heels, as Alexandra Luc defeated Jelena Durisic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 5.
Smith, who squandered a match point in a three-set loss to Hadziselimovic last Saturday, then pushed Carolina back in front with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 3. Marand then scored her third straight win over Mijacika at No. 1, 6-3, 6-4, to push UNC to the brink of an upset.
Clemson pulled one back at No. 4 when Wong finished off Grabinski in straight sets, putting Tsang in position to eliminate the Lady Tigers.
The Raleigh, N.C., product won the opening set from Bek 6-3 and led 5-3 in the second before the standout Clemson freshman won three straight games to lead 6-5. Tsang forced a tiebreak, however, and a Bek ground stroke on match point sailed long to give the junior a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory.
Carolina, which last made the ACC semifinals in 2007 and was eliminated by Clemson in last year's event, will face No. 3 Duke Saturday at 1 p.m. The match will give UNC a chance to win back a half-point in the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sport competition between the two schools that Carolina currently leads 11.5-8.5.
No. 21 North Carolina 4, No. 11 Clemson 2
Doubles
1. #3 Marand/Grabinski (NC) def. #6 Mijacika/Wong (CU), 8-4
2. #61 Smith/Tsang (NC) def. #33 Bek/Hadziselimovic (CU), 8-3
3. Reichert/Fanjoy (NC) led Luc/Henry (CU), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles
1. #23 Sanaz Marand (NC) def. #3 Ani Mijacika (CU), 6-3, 6-4
2. #62 Katrina Tsang (NC) def. #13 Josipa Bek (CU), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
3. Austin Smith (NC) def. Ina Hadziselimovic (CU), 6-4, 6-1
4. #107 Keri Wong (CU) def. #102 Sophie Grabinski (NC), 6-4, 6-1
5. Alexandra Luc (CU) def. Jelena Durisic (NC), 6-3, 6-4
6. Laurianne Henry (CU) led Laura Reichert (NC), 7-5, 4-5
Order of finish: 5, 3, 1, 4, 2
Players Mentioned
