May 20, 2009

Tigers Bek And Mijacika Advance In NCAA Singles Championships
Clemson women’s tennis players Josipa Bek and Ani Mijacika both needed three sets after dropping their openers but pulled off victories in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championships on Wednesday afternoon. They advance to Thursday’s second round of play at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University. The doubles tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday as well with a pair of Tiger teams set for competition.

Matches are slated to start at 11:00 am Eastern Time on Thursday. The complete schedule will be set after the conclusion of Wednesday’s action and will be available, along with live statistics and video broadcasts, on the Texas A&M Athletics website.

In her singles match-up, Bek held on to defeat 27th-ranked Anastasia Petukhova of Fresno State (3-6, 6-4, 6-0). She fell in the first set by a 6-3 margin before winning the first three games of the second. Petukhovav came within one at 4-3, but Bek broke the Bulldog player’s serve for the 6-4 victory. The Clemson rookie did not drop a game in the deciding set to improve to 33-9 for the year. She will look to avenge her loss in the round of 16 in the team championships as Bek and Notre Dame’s Kristy Frilling will match up for the second time in the last seven days.

Freshman Prevails Past First Round Of NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championship
Although the day didn’t start as planned for the Florida State Seminoles, it ended with an exciting victory in Noemie Scharle. The freshman will now battle against No. 1 Maria Mosolova of Northwestern in the second round Thursday morning. Scharle’s second round appearance is the first time since 1996 a Seminole has competed in the round of 32.

The day started off slow for the Seminoles as sophomore Katie Rybakova fell in the first match of the day. Ranked 50th in the nation, Rybakova was overpowered by No. 38 Kristy Frilling of Notre Dame 6-1, 6-2.

However, Scharle was there to turn things around for FSU in her match against No. 60 Jenni Heinser of San Francisco. The power-hitting rookie dominated the first set with a 6-4 win. The second set wasn’t successful for Scharle as Heinser pushed the Seminole to a third set after falling 4-6. Scharle retaliated in the third set as the newcomer conquered Heinser with a 6-2 win to close out the match and move on to the second round. Scharle, a Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg native, faces the top player in the country, Mosolova, who enters the competition with a 34-7 record this season as opposed to the Seminole’s 17-6 record.

Two Yellow Jackets Advance on Day One of NCAA Individual Championships
Georgia Tech's Amanda McDowell and Christy Striplin each advanced to the round of 32 Wednesday evening at the NCAA Singles Championships in College Station, Texas.

McDowell took her first step towards repeating as champion with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jackie Wu of Vanderbilt. In her second round match, which will begin Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET, McDowell will meet either No. 5 Mallory Cecil of Duke or Southern California's Sarah Fansler.

Striplin, competing in her first career NCAA Singles Championships, got through the first round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Northwestern's Samantha Murray. She is scheduled to face either No. 9-16-seeded Marrit Boonstra of Florida or Cal's Bohana Bobusic Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. 

Miami Advances Three in NCAA Singles Tournament
Three University of Miami women's tennis players advanced in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships on Wednesday, May 20 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.

Already competing with the most players in school history for the event, Miami advanced three-of-four student-athletes through to the Round of 32 with straight-set wins across for the victorious Hurricanes.

The day began with All-ACC performer Julia Cohen, the No. 2 seed for the tournament and third-ranked in the Campbell's/ITA singles poll, bouncing back from back-to-back losses to capture a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over South Carolina's Ana Marija Zubori (No. 48). Of Cohen's last 13 victories in singles play, all have come in straight-set performances for the Philadelphia native.

Marand Advances In NCAA Singles Championship
North Carolina junior Sanaz Marand advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship Wednesday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Northwestern's Georgia Rose at Texas A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center. Marand will face Arizona's Natasha Marks, an upset winner over No. 6 seed Fani Chifchieva, Thursday morning at 11.

Marand moved into the second round by avenging an early-season loss to Rose at the ITA All-American Championships. The Northwestern senior, ranked No. 20 in the most recent ITA poll, won the first game in both sets but Marand scored key breaks in both to take control of the match. Marand is into the second round for the second straight season and will meet Marks, who is currently ranked No. 58 in the ITA poll.

Fellow junior Katrina Tsang was also in action Wednesday, but fell to No. 11 Jana Juricova of California, 6-4, 6-3. 

Trio Of Blue Devils Advance On Day One
Less than 12 hours after winning the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship, three Blue Devils hit the courts in the individual competition. The trio of players all earned victories in the opening day, including a win by sophomore Ellah Nze upsetting the No. 14 seed.

Freshman Mallory Cecil and sophomores Reka Zsilinszka and Nze each earned bids to the tournament, which kicked off on May 20 at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.

Cecil and Zsilinszka kicked off the evening with straight-set victories. Seeded fifth overall, Cecil took on No. 42 Sarah Fansler of University of Southern California in her opening match. The Spartanburg, S.C., native cruised to her 25th victory of the year with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph. She will face Amanda McDowell of Georgia Tech in the second round at 1:30 p.m., on May 21.