Clemson women’s tennis walking fine line as NCAA Tournament opens

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY — Nancy Harris says she is “cautiously optimistic” about Clemson’s chances in the NCAA women’s tennis tournament.

Emphasis on “cautiously.”

A young, beat-up lineup featuring two freshmen and a sophomore has the Tigers’ head coach carefully choosing her words as Clemson prepares to host an NCAA regional this weekend at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. Clemson, which received the No. 12 seed in the 64-team field, opens tournament play at 2 p.m. today, with the winner facing either North Carolina or Georgia State at 1 p.m. Saturday. A trip to the Sweet 16 is on the line. The NCAA team championships begin next Friday in College Station, Texas.

Harris is confident in her team but careful at the same time.

“We don’t have a lot of room for mistakes, because of the youth,” Harris said of the regional. “It’s going to be very challenging for us. I’m cautiously optimistic, but I think it’s going to be challenging for us.”

Clemson is hosting its sixth straight regional and is shooting for its third straight Sweet 16 appearance and fifth in the last six years. But the Tigers have struggled with injuries; No. 1 player Ani Mijacika has been hampered by a leg injury, No. 5 Estefania Balda is working through an arm injury and senior Federica van Adrichem has been limited by a genetic condition.

To advance, Harris said, her group must limit its errors.

“Every match, we’re going to have to make a lot of really good decisions,” she said. “Every decision will almost always have to be right.”

Last year Clemson took a 4-0 NCAA first-round win over Winthrop before beating Michigan for a trip to the Sweet 16. The Tigers are concerned about Winthrop, but are clearly excited about a potential rematch with North Carolina.

Clemson won the teams’ first matchup 5-2 on April 11 in Chapel Hill, but were upset 4-2 by the Heels in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

“It’s going to be quite a challenge to get through this weekend,” Harris said. “We’re very much hoping we do a good job with Winthrop, and if we’re fortunate enough to beat Winthrop, we’ll come with a new, stronger Clemson facing North Carolina, and hopefully we’ll surpass North Carolina and go onto the final 16.”

At the ACC Tournament, the Heels won key matches against Mijacika, No. 2 Josipa Bek and No. 3 Ina Hadziselimovic, all of whom beat their UNC counterparts in the earlier match.

Anderson native Laurianne Henry, the No. 7 player, admitted the Heels are on Clemson’s collective mind.

“We need to forget about what happened, but hopefully we’ll get North Carolina again,” she said. “I don’t want to say it’s revenge, but we need to remember the feeling of losing. It’s not great.”

Henry said UNC played “more aggressive” at the ACC Tournament, and Harris agreed.

“They played a terrific match, did a terrific job, played hard, played well, better than us, and deserved to win,” she said. “Hopefully we can come back and do the same this time. Maybe it’s our turn to play at a better, higher level.”

One big advantage? A potential Clemson-UNC match would be on the Tigers’ turf this time, and senior Alexandra Luc, the No. 6 player, says she and her teammates know the Heels well by now.

“We know all the players and how the play, it’s going to be an advantage,” Luc said. “It’ll be good to see them again, more exciting. It’ll be a rivalry.”

© 2009 Anderson Independent Mail. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.