CLEMSON, S.C. (January 28, 2007) ? After prevailing through two hard-fought doubles matches, the No. 33 University of South Florida women's tennis team lost five of six in singles play to fall to the No. 17 Clemson Tigers 5-2 in the teams season opener.
Starting the day off, the Bulls (0-1) were able to capture the doubles point with wins by Iciri Rai and Liz Cruz and the No. 22 pair of Shadisha Robinson and Gabriela Duch. Rai and Cruz held strong against Maria Brito and Ina Hadziselimovic, 9-7 in the third spot. At position No. 1, Robinson and Duch fought off Carol Slage and Estefania Balda 9-8 (8-6) to give USF the doubles point.
As play moved into singles action however, Clemson (2-0) took over and shut down the Bulls. The second and third positions each saw three set matches, with only junior Courtney Vernon prevailing. The Solon, Ohio native dropped her first set to Balda, but then marched back to capture the next two with scores of 6-4, 6-4.
Freshman Jessica Sweeting won her first set over Ani Mijacika 6-4, but then faltered 6-1, 6-2 in the remaining frames.
Salge upset No. 10 Robinson, 6-3, 7-6(3) at the No. 1 spot and Cruz, Duch and Rai each fell in straight sets.
The Bulls will try to rebound when the team hosts Stetson on Sat., Feb. 10 at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The home opener will also mark the first of a three-match home stand against in-state rivals, with Jacksonville and UCF slated to follow the same week. Admission to the USF Varsity Tennis Courts is free.
Doubles:
1) #22 S. Robinson/G. Duch (USF) def. C. Slage/ E. Balda (CU) 9-8 (8-6)
2) F. van Adrichem/A. Mijacika (CU) def. C. Vernon/J. Sweeting (USF) 8-6
3) I. Rai/L. Cruz (USF) def. M. Brito / I. Hadziselimovic (CU) 9-7
Singles:
1) Carol Slage def. #10 Shadisha Robinson (6-3, 7-6(3))
2) #54 Courtney Vernon def. Estefania Balda (0-6, 6-4, 6-4)
3) Ani Mijacika def. Jessica Sweeting (4-6, 6-1,6-2)
4) Ina Hadziselimovic def. Liz Cruz (6-3, 6-4)
5) Maria Brito def. Gabriela Duch (7-5, 6-1)
6) Alexandra Luc def. Iciri Rai (7-5, 6-1)
