The Tigers wrapped up their season this weekend and tied it with a bright orange bow. In its last regular season match on Senior Day, Brandon Wagner’s men’s tennis team dismantled No. 45 Georgia Tech 4-0.
The No. 24 Tigers finished their season with a 20-6, 8-5 ACC record: the team’s best finish since 2014.
All three seniors — Max Smith, Matt Pitts and Max Damm — competed in doubles and contributed to the Tigers’ swift theft of the doubles point. On Court No. 1, Smith and Noa Vukadin won 6-3. In the same breath, Pitts and Viktor Markov held on to a break to win 6-3 on Court No. 3. The doubles point belonged to the Tigers as Damm and Romain Gales’ match went unfinished.
This week, Damm and Gales jumped 50 spots from the No. 85-ranked doubles team to No. 35. The pairing joined Vukadin and Smith, who sat one spot behind ranking No. 36.
Following the doubles point, the Tigers only needed to win on three singles courts to finish their season victorious. Smith, amid his Senior Day celebrations, went undefeated on the day, winning in straight sets over Richard Biagiotti on Court No. 5.
On the opposite side of the seniority spectrum, freshman Edoardo Chérié Lignière also earned a straight-set win, propelling the Tigers toward victory.
The cherry on top came from Vukadin. Ranked No. 57 in singles, the Tigers’ Croatian magician took care of business against Gabriele Brancatelli on Court No. 1.
Celebrations ensued as Clemson’s historic season concluded by honoring the seniors. It was a beautiful way to close the curtains. However, as Wagner will surely echo in the locker room this week, the season is anything but over.
A trip to Cary, North Carolina, awaits the team in the ACC Championship starting on Wednesday. Ranked No. 8 in the ACC, the Tigers bought themselves a first-round bye. Their second-round opponent is yet to be determined.