May 21, 1999
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Stanford, seeded second overall, advanced to its 14th straight NCAA semifinal appearance with a 5-1 defeat of tenth-seeded Southern California in the quarterfinal round Friday afternoon. The Cardinal (27-2) will face sixth-seeded California (19-4) Saturday at 2 p.m. on the Stadium Courts.
Both teams had obstacles to overcome. USC (21-9) was competing with less than 12 and a half hours of rest after its marathon match against Miami didn't finish until 3:29 a.m. Friday morning. Meanwhile, Stanford was playing without Teryn Ashley, ranked seventh nationally in singles, at the No. 2 slot. The Cardinal went up 3-0 with wins at Nos. 1 and 2, and 6, including an impressive performance from Gabriela Lastra in Ashley's spot. Lastra, ranked 52nd nationally, swept USC's Kara Warkentin (No. 56) 6-0 in the first set. The two battled to a six-all tie in the second, but Lastra dominated again with a 7-0 decision in the tie-breaker.
USC gained early leads with 6-4, first-set wins at both the Nos. 3 and 5 spots, but Stanford finished the Trojans 6-3, 6-2 and 7-5, 6-4, respectively. At No. 4 singles, Karolina Bakalarova bounced back from a 6-1, first set defeat and won 6-2 in the second, and 7-5 in the third for the Trojans only victory.
Keiko Tokuda, ranked 79th nationally, clinched the win for the Cardinal with a comeback, three-setter at No. 5 singles. Tokuda fell 4-6 in the first set, but won 6-3, 6-2 to give Stanford its second win over USC this season.
Singles No. 1 Marissa Irvin, SU d. Ditta Huber, USC 6-3, 6-2 No. 2 Gabriela Lastra, SU d. Kara Warkentin, USC 6-0, 7-6 (0) No. 3 Lauren Kalvaria, SU d. Jacqui Boyd, USC 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 No. 4 Karolina Bakalarova, USC d. Jennifer Heiser, SU 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 No. 5 Keiko Tokuda, SU d. Veronika Safarova USC 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 No. 6 Sarah Pestieau, SU d. Krissy Hamilton-Heinberg, USC 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Did not play