Baylor Women’s Tennis Slips Against #17 Clemson, 4-3 - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

CLEMSON, S.C. – Baylor's 29th-ranked women's tennis team couldn't finish the job against 17th-ranked Clemson, falling 4-3 on Friday in Clemson, S.C.

"We're gradually making improvements," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "Unfortunately, it's not showing up in our overall match score yet. When you're playing the type of schedule we're playing, it's a real character builder. Right now we're just finding out what we're made of and who we really are."

In doubles action, Romy Koelzer and Yana Koroleva notched the first victory for the Tigers on Court 2 over Baylor's Megan Horter and Alex Clay, 8-2. Clemson's Beatrice Gumulya and Ani Miao followed suit with an 8-3 victory against Alex Leatu and Kiah Generette to clinch the doubles point at the No. 3 position. Ema Burgic and Victoria Kisialeva's contest against Liz Jeukeng and Tristen Dewar remained unfinished.

Clemson extended its 1-0 lead during singles play, earning straight-set victories on Courts 1, 3, and 6. The Tigers clinched the match when 27th-ranked Koroleva pulled off an upset against 12th-ranked Burgic on court 1, 6-1, 6-2.

After the match-clinching point, Maria Biryukova won her contest against Miao in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. The freshman is now 3-2 in dual match play.

Kisialeva's match on court 2 headed into a third-set tiebreak. After losing her first set, 3-6, the freshman overcame 29th-ranked Jeukeng 7-5 in the second set and 10-5 in a super tiebreaker, making the final score 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-5).

Generette's match was the last to finish on the day. She swept a tiebreak in the first set, 7-0, and ultimately closed out her contest against Koelzer, 7-6 (7-0), 7-5. Generette is now 5-4 in singles play.

"There's no question that at certain positions we're getting better," Scrivano said. "Maria and Kiah are some of our most consistent players recently. Over the last four or five matches they've been the most consistent. They're progressing nicely."

With this win, Clemson (5-5) evened up the series record between the two teams at three matches apiece.

This loss is the fourth in a row for BU to drop its season record to 4-9. The Lady Bears have only won once over the past ten matches. The team is also 3-9 against nationally ranked opponents.

Up next for Baylor, the team will wrap up a five-game road swing against top-ranked North Carolina (12-1) on Sunday. The Tar Heels are coming off of a pair of 7-0 victories against Winthrop and East Carolina. Its lineup boasts seven ranked singles players and one doubles tandem.