CLEMSON, S.C.– The Clemson Women’s Tennis completed their first Fall season tournament at the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic. Multiple Tigers saw action for the first time and fared well during the tournament.
The competition, typically hosted at Furman, saw split action between the Furman campus and Clemson University as weather forced the competition to be played in the two locations. Clemson hosted Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, NC State, and Texas Tech on Friday but resumed normal play at Furman on Saturday and Sunday.
“Our first tournament was a great learning experience for many players, especially our nine new players and six freshmen,” Head coach Boomer Saia said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to expose them to high-level competition. While there are areas for improvement, both for the players and the staff, I saw some impressive performances out there. Artemis, in particular, had a terrific flight, and her resilience in battling hard yesterday and today was truly inspiring.”
Friday Competition:
On Friday, Candela Yecora started us off with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Mississippi States Athina Pitta. This marked the first win in her collegiate career in singles and her first win as a Tiger. No. 58 Ria Bhakta similarly shined on the day, winning her first match as a Tiger after transferring from Michigan State University. Bhakta took the match against Kentucky’s Zoe Hammond, 6-1, 6-4.
Freshman standout Artemis Aslanisvili claimed her first collegiate win against Ellie Eades from Kentucky in an easy 6-2, 6-4 match. Freshman Gaia Parravicini similarly prevailed on the day after splitting her first two sets 6-4, 3-6, against Julie Bedard from Auburn. Parravicini came back and claimed the match in the last set, winning 6-2.
Senior leader and sole returner from the 2023-24 season, Sophia Hatton, claimed her first win of the season, taking down Kate Dmitrichenko from Texas Tech, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
Rounding out the first day, Junior Romana Cisovska won her first match as a Tiger after transferring from Oklahoma and defeating Jermin Sherif from Texas Tech, 7-5, 6-3.
Saturday Competition:
On Saturday, Aslanisvili continued her dominance in her singles flight. In a battle during the first set, Aslanisvili came out on top winning 7-6 (1). To finish out the match she claimed the second set 6-0 and defeated in-state rival, Olympie Lancelot from South Carolina.
Illustrating a gutsy win, Cisovska took down Sankavi Gownder from Wake Forest….