By Riley Vance—

The No. 50 Louisville women’s tennis team (7-12, 3-10 ACC) was defeated by the Clemson Tigers (8-14, 2-10 ACC) Sunday, April 11 at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. Louisville lost with a final score of 3-4. 

The Tigers took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. 

Junior Rhea Verma and sophomore Andrea Di Palma took over court one with a 6-2 win over Clemson’s Cristina Mayorova and Sophia Hatton. 

Clemson bounced back with a 6-4 win on court three over senior Nikolina Jovic and junior Dina Chaika. 

The point was clinched on court two as Ali Despain and Laura Marti (CLEMSON) defeated Chelsea Sawyer and graduate student Raven Neely.

Louisville fought hard in singles but came up short.

Mayorova (CLEMSON) defeated Jovic 6-4, 6-2; advancing Clemson’s overall lead to 2-0. 

Hatton upset No. 93 Di Palma 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

The Cards then went on to secure two consecutive wins on courts three and four. 

On court three, Neely took down Clemson’s Middlebrooks in a close 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) match. 

Sawyer topped Despain (CLEMSON) in a third set (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) to bring the overall score to 3-2.

The Tigers clinched the match as Marti defeated junior Jelena Vujanic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. 

The Cards finished strong as Verma took down Lana Sipek (CLEMSON) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. 

Women’s tennis finishes their regular season next weekend as they face Butler today at 12 p.m. They will celebrate their Senior Day before the match. 

Final Scores:

Singles

  1. Cristina Mayorova (CLEMSON) def. Nikolina Jovic (LOU) 6-4, 6-2
  2. Sophia Hatton (CLEMSON) def. #93 Andrea Di Palma (LOU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
  3. Raven Neely (LOU) def. M. Middlebrooks (CLEMSON) 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
  4. Chelsea Sawyer (LOU) def. Ali Despain (CLEMSON) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
  5. Rhea Verma (LOU) def. Lana Sipek (CLEMSON) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
  6. Laura Marti (CLEMSON) def. Jelena Vujanic (LOU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5

Doubles 

  1. Rhea Verma/Andrea Di Palma (LOU) def. Cristina Mayorova/Sophia Hatton (CLEMSON) 6-2
  2. Ali Despain/Laura Marti (CLEMSON) def. Raven Neely/Chelsea Sawyer (LOU) 6-4
  3. Lana Sipek/M. Middlebrooks (CLEMSON) def. Dina Chaika/Nikolina Jovic (LOU) 6-4

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Reinking// U of L Athletics