Both Clemson tennis teams eliminated in round of 32 of NCAA Tournament

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Both Clemson tennis teams eliminated in round of 32 of NCAA Tournament

Clemson tennis had both of its NCAA Tournament runs come to an end Saturday, with the men’s and women’s teams each falling in the Round of 32 against top 15 opponents.

The Clemson men’s team fell 4-2 to No. 8 seed Arizona in Tucson, closing the year at 17-13 overall and 8-5 in ACC play. The women’s team, ranked No. 24 nationally, dropped a 4-1 match to No. 14 Vanderbilt in Nashville, ending its season at 19-9 overall and 7-6 in the ACC.

For the men, it was one of those matches where Clemson had enough singles fight to make things interesting, but dropping the doubles point made the climb a lot steeper. Arizona took doubles with wins on courts two and three, while Clemson’s No. 24 duo of Viktor Markov and Noa Vukadin was leading a top 20 Arizona pair 5-4 when the point was clinched.

Arizona then grabbed the first singles point on court one, where No. 4 Colton Smith Friend defeated No. 44 Markov, 7-5, 6-2. Clemson answered quickly. Max Farzam rolled past No. 98 Casper Rozin, 6-0, 7-5, on court three, and Vukadin followed with a strong 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 74 Gustafsson on court two to pull the Tigers into the match. The Wildcats responded at No. 6, where Uwe Kask beat Noah Cherubino, 7-6 (5), 6-0, before No. 105 Ludvig Ludovici closed it out with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Henrik Bladelius on court four. Marko Mesarovic was still fighting on court five and led his match 5-7, 6-4 when play was halted.

The women’s match had a similar frustrating shape. Vanderbilt took the doubles point, and Clemson spent the rest of the afternoon trying to claw back against another strong ranked opponent. Jade Groen and Rinon Okuwaki, the No. 57 doubles pair in the country, fell 6-3 to Vanderbilt’s No. 7 duo of Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr on court one. The Commodores clinched doubles on court three with a 6-2 win over Antonia Aslanisvili and Sophie Clayton, while Romana Cisovska and Talia Neilson-Gatenby were trailing 5-4 on court two when the point was decided.

Vanderbilt stretched the lead in singles when Mohr beat Groen, 6-3, 6-2, on court one, but Clemson got its answer from Aslanisvili on court five. She defeated Erin Pearce, 6-3, 6-4, giving the Tigers their lone point of the match and briefly cutting the deficit to 2-1. Vanderbilt then pulled away with wins on courts three and two, as No. 33 Valeria Ray beat Cisovska, 6-2, 6-3, before No. 12 Bridget Stammel held off No. 69 Okuwaki, 7-6 (8), 6-3, to clinch the match.

It is a tough ending for both Clemson teams, especially with each group running into a highly ranked opponent away from home. The men had to face a top-eight national seed on its own courts, while the women were sent to Nashville against a Vanderbilt team playing in its home state. Neither match ended the way Clemson wanted, but both teams at least gave themselves a chance to extend their seasons into the second weekend before the favorites closed the door.

For Clemson tennis, Saturday was a reminder of how thin the margin gets once the NCAA Tournament reaches the Round of 32. Both Tiger teams were good enough to get there. Both ran into opponents with just a little more firepower when it mattered.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson Clemson Tennis programs sent home in Round of 32

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