Clemson women’s tennis defeated No. 72 ranked Louisville on Sunday, March 13 in a 7-0 sweep. 

After clinching a win 4-3 against Notre Dame on Friday, the Tigers were energized to get another ACC victory.  

Cristina Mayorova and Daniella Medvedeva led the Tigers in doubles on Sunday, facing the Cardinals’ Tatiana Simova and Andrea Di Palma. Mayorova and Medvedeva went up an early break in the match, utilizing different net formations and going on offense whenever possible.   

Mayorova and Medvedeva played consistently, putting pressure on Simova and Di Palma to make the error. Mayorova hit a backhand down the line to secure a 5-1 lead. The Cardinals tried to make a run late in the set, bringing the score to 5-3, but the Tigers continued to keep the ball deep in the court and capitalize on their opportunities.  

After an impressive performance, Mayorova and Medvedeva won the first doubles match for the Tigers, 6-3. 

On court two of doubles, Clemson’s Ali Despain and Samantha Buyckx faced Louisville’s Tyra Richardson and Sasha Gorchanyuk. Despain and Buyckx dictated rallies from the back of the court, maintaining control of the cross-court exchanges with Richardson and Gorchanyuk.  

The Tigers went up an early break in the match and kept the momentum going, leading 5-2. After Louisville held serve to make the score 5-3, Buyckxlooked to continue her great serving day to secure the doubles point for the Tigers. On match point, Buyckx hit a deep, out wide serve, which incurred a short return from Louisville and gave the Tigers the opportunity to go on the offense and close out the match.  

Despain and Buyckx won 6-3, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead heading into the singles matches.  

Medvedeva got the first singles point of the day for the Tigers after defeating Louisville’sSasha Gorchanyuk, 6-1, 6-0.  

Medvedeva took the ball early and put Gorchanyuk on defense throughout the first set. Gorchanyuk attempted to go on the offensive, but it wasMedvdedeva who wasstepping into the court and forcing the errors out of Gorchanyuk. Medvedeva’s win gave the Tigers a 2-0 advantage over the Cardinals, as the rest of the singles matches continued. 

On court six, Clemson’sLana Sipek faced Louisville’s Dina Chaika. Sipek won the first set with ease 6-1, playing consistently and dictating play from the baseline.

Sipek continued her momentum in the second set, where she raced to a 5-2 lead. After Chaika held serve at 5-2, Sipek looked to continue a successful serving day and close out the match. On match point, Sipek hit a deep serve to Chaika’s backhand leading to a backhand-to-backhand cross-court exchange, where ultimately, Sipek forced the error out of Chaika.  

Sipek got the third point for the Tigers, winning her match, 6-1, 6-3. 

With the Tigers looking for one more win to secure the match victory against Louisville, Despain looked to continue her form in her match against Simova.  

Despain went up an early break in the first set as she outplayed Simova in the cross-court exchanges, forcing errors out of her. Despain won the first set, 6-3.  

After winning the first set, Despain started playing with even more confidence in the second, coming out to a 3-0 lead. Despain continued to put pressure on Simova, changing up her return position, stepping into the court, looking to attack her second serve. Despain kept her composure to close out the match on her serve, 6-3, 6-4. 

Despain’s win clinched the fourth point over the Cardinals and with three matchesstill in progress, the Tigers led 4-0. 

After Despain’s victory, the Tigers’ Eleni Louka, Buyckx and Mayorova all won their matches in closely contested battles. The Tigers swept the Cardinals 7-0, getting their second win of the weekend against ranked ACC opponents

Clemson women’s tennis will be back in action on Friday, March 18. The Tigers will play at home, facing North Carolina State at 5 p.m.