03/21/06– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NO. 75 SOUTH ALABAMA WOMEN'S TENNIS COMES UP SHORT IN UPSET BID OF NO. 34 CLEMSON

CONTACT: Kevin Beasley

Box Score

MOBILE Ala. - The No. 75 University of South Alabama women's tennis team's upset bid of No. 34 Clemson came up just short Tuesday afternoon as the Lady Jags dropped a 4-3 decision to the Tigers at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

"The key for us right now is to not get frustrated and recognize the progress we are making," said South Alabama women's tennis head coach Jaco Keyser. "If we keep working hard, we will start closing out these good teams."

In the doubles portion of the match, Clemson (11-4) came out and struck first when the team of Maria Brito/Marie Scriba (CU) defeated Dijana Stanic/Jelena Krivacevic (USA), 8-3 at No. 3. South Alabama evened things up a few minutes later when the Lady Jags’ team of Maria Zivcicova/Sylvanie Spanenberg captured an 8-5 win at No. 2 to upset No. 40 Daniela Alvarez/Alexandra Luc (CU).

The doubles point clincher came down to the No. 1 position. After trailing early, USA's Adrianna Solarova and Klara Jarova battled back to tie the contest up at 6-6, but the ninth rated duo of Federica van Adrichen and Carol Salge picked up the final two points to take the match 8-6 and give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 match lead.

The Lady Jags (9-6, 2-0 SBC) evened the match at 1-1 when Solarova won her fourth straight match and defeated Alvarez, ranked No. 119, 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1. Stanic gave the Jags a 2-1 match advantage with a three-set victory (6-1, 0-6, and 6-1) over Luc at the No. 4 position. Brito evened the match back up for Clemson at 2-2 with a straight set victory of her own, defeating Michaela Babicova (6-2, 6-0). USA's Zivcicova, however, untied the match with a 6-1, 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot to give South Alabama a 3-2 match lead.

Trailing by one in the match, the Lady Tigers were able to pick up a pair of three-set victories at the Nos. 2 and 6 positions to take the match 4-3. Kathi Gerber defeated Jarova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 at No. 6 and 46th-ranked van Adrichen took a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Krivacevic at No. 2.

The South Alabama women will take a week off before it resumes its nine-match homestand when it host Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas-Little Rock Mar. 28 at 1 p.m. at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

Tennis Match Results
Clemson vs University of South Alabama
Mar 21, 2006 at Mobile, Ala.

No. 34 Clemson 4, No. 75 University of South Alabama 3

Singles competition
1. Adrianna Solarova (USAW) def. No. 119 Daniela Alvarez (CU) 6-1, 7-5
2. No. 46 Federica van Adrichen (CU) def. Jelena Krivacevic (USAW) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Maria Zivcicova (USAW) def. Carol Salge (CU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Dijana Stanic (USAW) def. Alexandra Luc (CU) 6-1, 0-6, 6-1
5. Maria Brito (CU) def. Michaela Babicova (USAW) 6-2, 6-0
6. Kathi Gerber (CU) def. Klara Jarova (USAW) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. No. 9 Federica van Adrichen/Carol Salge (CU) def. Adrianna Solarova/Klara Jarova (USAW) 8-6
2. Maria Zivcicova/Sylvanie Spanenberg (USAW) def. No. 40 Daniela Alvarez/Alexandra Luc (CU) 8-5
3. Maria Brito/Marie Scriba (CU) def. Dijana Stanic/Jelena Krivacevic (USAW) 8-3

Match Notes:
Clemson 11-4; National ranking 34
University of South Alabama 9-6; National ranking 75
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,4,5,3,6,2)