Clemson Stuns Top-Seed Georgia Tech in Semifinal Action of ACC Women's Tennis Championship :: Tigers and Duke will battle for the league crown on Sunday at 11 a.m.

April 19, 2008

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - For the second straight day, an upset was recorded at the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Tennis Championship, as fourth-seeded Clemson upended No. 1 seed Georgia Tech 4-1 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, who have won nine matches in a row, will now face No. 2 seed Duke for the league crown on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Blue Devils defeated sixth-seeded Florida State 4-2 in the other semifinal match on Saturday.

Clemson (14-9) will be seeking its first championship title since 2004 and eighth all-time, while Duke (18-3) hopes to collect a league-best 16th crown and first since 2003. The two teams have met a total of seven times in the ACC Tournament, five in the finals with Duke holding a 3-2 edge.

The Tigers earned the doubles point with a pair of hard-fought victories from Kristi Miller and Sasha Krupina (8-5) at the top spot and Ina Hadziselimovic and Alexandra Luc (8-6) on the third court. Georgia Tech tied the match with a quick 6-0, 6-1 win against Estefania Balda at No. 2 singles, but Clemson would claim the next two singles victories to end the match and snap Georgia Tech's eight-match winning streak. Ani Mijacika clinched the match for the Tigers with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over the Yellow Jackets' Kristi Miller at the No. 1 position.

Florida State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point on a 9-7 win from Jessica Wente and Lauren Macfarlane versus Duke's Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka at No. 3. However, the Blue Devils bounced back in singles play winning at Nos. 2, 4 and 6. Amanda Granson clinched the match for Duke with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Tapiwa Marobela at the No. 5 spot. The overall win extended the Blue Devils' winning streak to seven straight matches.

Coverage of the ACC Women's Tennis Championship will be made available On-Demand every night (April 18-20) by 9 p.m. on ACC Select.

Thursday, April 17 - First Round
#8 NC State def. #9 Wake Forest, 4-3
#5 North Carolina def. #12 Maryland, 4-0
#7 Virginia def. #10 Virginia Tech, 4-2
#6 Florida State def. #11 Boston College, 5-0

Friday, April 18 - Quarterfinals
#1 Georgia Tech def. #8 NC State, 4-0
#4 Clemson def. #5 North Carolina, 4-2
#2 Duke def. #7 seed Virginia, 4-1
#6 Florida State def. #3 Miami, 4-2

Saturday, April 19 - Semifinals
#4 Clemson def. #1 Georgia Tech, 4-1
#2 Duke def. #6 Florida State, 4-2

Sunday, April 20 - Final
#4 Clemson vs. #2 Duke - 11:00 a.m.