CLEMSON, S.C. — The No. 33 Clemson women’s tennis team (14-7, 2-6 ACC) earned a huge 4-3 win over No. 24 UCF on Saturday at Duckworth Family Tennis Facility. With the scored tied 3-3, Dani Medvedeva won a third set to clinch the Tigers’ second top-25 victory in as many weeks.
“I am so proud of Team 48 for their willingness to find a way today,” said Head Coach Amy Sargeant. “This week we have been working on establishing who we are and who choose to be. Today we chose to stay out there as long as we needed, by hunting down every ball and playing tennis on our terms.”
The Knights (7-9, 0-0 AAC) started on the front foot, taking two doubles matches to quickly go up 1-0 headed into singles. The Tigers picked up two victories on Courts 1 and 2 as UCF was forced to medically retire on both courts. The Knights picked up a point on Court 4 to level the score but Alexandra Anttila won her match in straight sets to advance to 5-0 on the season and give Clemson a 3-2 lead.
Sophia Hatton won her first set, but was unable to secure the victory as the Knights tied the match at three apiece. Despite the loss, Hatton is 13-3 on the season.
With Court 3 left as the decisive point to earn, No. 74 Medvedeva entered a third set ready to take the match for the Tigers. With the third set tied 2-2, Medvedeva rattled off four straight games to clinch the victory. The win saw Medvedeva improve to a whopping 16-2 on the season.
“This team have bought into the championship mindset and we are excited to continue this journey. We are now establishing ourselves as a top 25 caliber team with commitment and hard work.”
The Tigers are back to action next weekend when they travel to take on Virginia Tech on Friday and Virginia on Sunday. Friday’s match will begin at 2 p.m. while Sunday’s match starts at noon.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson women’s tennis, visit ClemsonTigers.com and follow @ClemsonWTennis on Twitter and Instagram.