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Clemson, S.C. For the first time since 2014, the Clemson men’s tennis team (5-3, 1-0 ACC) downed Florida State (3-4, 0-1 ACC) in a 4-3 thriller in the conference opener on Friday night. Freshman Ryuhei Azuma earned his first career win over a ranked opponent in his first match of the kind.
After falling to the Seminoles on Court 3 in doubles, Yizhou Liu and Teodor Giusca picked up a win on Court 1, 6-4. Spencer Whitaker and Azuma followed with a 7-5 win at line two to clinch the point for Clemson. Carlos Kelaidis earned the first singles victory of the match for Tigers, a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4. Azuma followed closely behind defeating No. 77 Alex Knaff on Court 2, 6-3, 6-1. Despite Clemson picking up three-straight points, Florida State rallied to tie the match at three-all. However, Whitaker sealed the Tiger victory fending off Andreja Petrovic 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Court 6.
Clemson, S.C. The pair of Jacob Jahn and Ryuhei Azuma earned their first ranked win in doubles as the Tigers topped Old Dominion, 6-1, on Sunday afternoon. The doubles decision came down to Court 1 where Jahn/Azuma topped No. 25 Maldoner/Vidal, 6-3. Spencer Whitaker and Teodor Giusca (6-4) helped to secure the doubles point for Clemson, finishing first at line three.
The Monarchs evened the score at one-all with a victory at No. 6 singles but the Tigers surged back with five-straight wins. Jorge Plans Gonzalez quickly picked up a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Nicola Vidal on Court 3. Azuma followed closely behind, taking line four, 6-2, 6-4, while Whitaker delivered the match-clincher on Court 5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-1). Additionally, Giusca downed Maldoner, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) at line one and Yizhou Liu battled back to defeat Tomislav Podvinski, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).