CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson women’s tennis team opens up the spring 2024 inaugural season in Indian Wells, Calif., as they face off in the Dual in the Desert, a hidden duals tournament.
The season will feature non-conference competition against ETSU, Georgia State, Western Carolina, Iowa, Alabama, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, College of Charleston, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Mercer, and Charleston Southern.
Conference play for the Tigers will begin when the team faces Syracuse on the road.
There will be several opportunities for fans to support the Tigers at home as the team hosts two home doubleheaders and notable matchups against Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and NC State. The 2023 ACC Championship Tournament will occur from April 17-21 in Cary, N.C. The ACC Tournament will be followed by the NCAA first and second rounds beginning on May 3.
High anticipation surrounds the start of the Clemson women’s tennis season as the program is debuting an entirely new coaching staff. Boomer Saia was named the fifth Head Coach of the women’s tennis program in June 2023 and has since remodeled the program for success. Saia stepped into his first head coach position at Iowa State University for the 2019-2023 seasons. While leading the Cyclones, Saia set records in Big 12 wins, overall wins, all-conference selections, and NCAA appearances while breaking several winless streaks. He was named the 2021 and 2023 Big 12 Coach of the Year.
“We are tremendously excited to start our first Tiger tennis season as a staff this Spring,” Saia says. “We have significant experience with our players, which we will rely on heavily as we enter ACC play. Our group is excited and ready to get our season underway!
Working alongside Coach Saia are Associate Head Coaches Ashleigh Antal and Tom Rees, who have had successful tennis careers. Antal had an impactful tennis career as she took her skills to play collegiate tennis for Vanderbilt University. While playing for the Commodores’, she started all four years while being a two-year captain for the team. Antal reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles tournament, was named an NCAA Double All-American her senior season, and had a career-high ranking of No. 9 in doubles and No. 101 in singles. Rees played his first collegiate tennis season at Tusculum University, where he held the No. 1 singles and doubles spot. Following his first collegiate tennis season, Rees took his talent to UNC-Asheville…