Sanchez fought off her own serve, missing long on the first, and setting up a high-pressure situation. Sanchez again double-faulted, setting up match point at 30-40. Christian hit the next ball off Wong’s return at Bek’s feet and she couldn’t handle it, but bounced right back sending a backhand winner down the line off the next serve. Sanchez then double faulted, knotting it at 15-15. With Sanchez back serving, Wong’s return was into the net, giving SC the 15-0 lead. Christian then hit a winner down the line off the next serve to break, pulling to within one at 5-4. Wong then double-faulted twice in a row, giving USC the 15-40 lead. Wong’s offer on the next point was long, knotting it at 15-15. Clemson took a 15-0 lead as Bek used a series of smashes, and Christian put a return in the net. Much like the first set, The Trojans got back on serve to close to 4-3, but Clemson again broke Christian setting up Wong with a 5-3 lead. Clemson then held, to go up 4-1, as Bek’s smash found open court on Wong’s serve. The Trojans broke Bek, but Clemson answered with a quick break of Christian and a 3-1 lead. The Trojans got back on serve after breaking back to pull within 4-3, starting a streak of four straight breaks that finished with Sanchez’s double fault giving the Tigers the 6-4 first set.Ĭlemson opened the second set strong as well, holding the first game and then breaking Sanchez to take a 2-0 lead. There is no doubt that this is one of the best doubles teams in college tennis history.”Ĭlemson had first serve in the opening set, and each team held the first three games before Clemson broke the Trojans and then held again to take a 4-1 lead. “They are looking for the next opportunity to get the next point, and it’s a great focus and energy that is propelling them. “Both Keri and Jo are juniors, and they have been in this arena several times, and they love it and enjoy it,” said Harris. The duo is 34-10 together on the season, far surpassing the previous tandem’s record of 29 wins in 2004. We were expecting it but at the same time you never know.” “We knew going in that it was going to be very tough, but playing in the other two tournaments helped us to see what the competition is like. “The matches have been very tough,” said Wong. They have now reached the finals of each of the three collegiate “Grand Slam” events, the ITA All-American Championship, the ITA Indoor National Championship, and the NCAA Championship. The previous record for doubles wins in a singles season was 35 by Ina Hadziselimovic last season. It was Bek’s 40th doubles win of the season and the 95th of her career, while Wong registered her 39th of the season and 91st of her career. The Trojans entered this match with a 27-4 mark on the year, but held just three of ten service opportunities in the match.Īmong Clemson sports that employ a single-elimination tournament format, this will be just the fourth appearance in a National Championship match in school history (Gigi Fernandez – Tennis Singles, 1983 Soccer, 1984 Soccer 1987). 2 seed from Florida, Allie Will and Alex Cercone, who had been 14-0, in the quarters. The win comes just a day after they dispatched the No. “We just try to play hard whether serving or receiving, and it was important to make good decisions about where to go with the ball, and we were good about looking for their positions on the court and how we can take advantage.” "There is no easy match at nationals, and we fought every point today,” said Bek. When one is playing well, and the other is not, they complement each other so well, and when they both play well, they are very tough to beat.” “With Jo and Keri, they are both so gifted and talented. “Both of them are great doubles players,” said Head Coach Nancy Harris, who led the team to a fifth straight Sweet 16 appearance. The match time is yet to be determined, as Juricova has also earned a berth in the Singles Championship match. 4 seed Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette of Stanford. 1 seed Jana Juricova and Mari Andersson of California and No. They advance to play in the National Championship match against the winner of No. The Tigers broke the Trojans’ serve in seven of ten service games to propel them to the win. 3 national seed, Southern Cal’s Maria Sanchez and Kaitlyn Christian, from the NCAA Doubles Semifinals, 6-4, 6-4 in Stanford, CA. STANFORD, CA – Josipa Bek and Keri Wong just keep rolling, this time bouncing the No.
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