May 24, 1999
ATHENS, Ga. - The #2 Stanford men's tennis team was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tennis Tournament by #15 Baylor, 4-2. This match snapped an 18-match win streak in postseason play for the Cardinal and marks the earliest exit from the final 16 (except for 1982 and 1987 when Stanford did not reach the final 16). Additionally, today's loss halted Stanford's quest for a fifth-straight national title. The Cardinal finishes the season with a 25-3 record.
Stanford began the match by capturing the doubles point as pairs of Scotty Scott-Ali Ansari and Ryan Wolters-K.J. Hippensteel won their matches. With the Cardinal up 1-0 in the match, Stanford's Ansari boosted the lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory at number six singles. However, Baylor brought the match to within one as Johan Jooste, ranked 16th nationally, defeated Stanford senior captain Ryan Wolters, ranked fourth, 6-4, 7-6 (4). The match was all tied when Baylor's Johannes Michalsky defeated Scotty Scott, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. At that same time, the Bears were up in the other three remaining matches. Baylor closed out the win with victories at number three followed by number four.
"Baylor came out at us well today. We knew they were a hard fighting team and they really showed that today," said Stanford Head Coach Dick Gould. "The nature of sport is you win some and you lose some. We've had a great season and I hope this team does not define the season by today's loss."
This was the final dual match for senior Ryan Wolters. Wolters will still compete in the singles and doubles championships, however finishes his team career with an 83-13 dual match record and a 47-8 record at number one singles.
"I've known how great it feels to win, but it really hurts to lose," said Wolters. "I don't think we lost today, but rather Baylor beat us - they played really well from top to bottom."
Wolters, Geoff Abrams, Alex Kim and K.J. Hippensteel will remain in Georgia to play in the singles and doubles championships to begin on Wednesday.
NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Athens, Georgia
Baylor 4, Stanford 2
Singles
1. Johan Jooste (Baylor) d Ryan Wolters (Stanford) 6-4, 7-6 (4) 2. Geoff Abrams (Stanford) vs. Pawel Gajdzik (Baylor) Suspended 3. David Hodge (Baylor) d. K.J. Hippensteel (Stanford) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 4. Jorge Aldrete (Baylor) d. Alex Kim (Stanford) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 5. Johannes Michalsky (Baylor) d. Scotty Scott (Stanford) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 6. Ali Ansari (Stanford) d. Mark Williams (Baylor) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles
1. Abrams/Kim (Stanford) vs. Jooste/Hodge (Baylor) Suspended 2. Hippensteel/Wolters (Stanford) d. Gajdzik/Michalsky (Baylor) 8-4 3. Ansari/Scott (Stanford) d. Williams/Csongor Bibza (Baylor) 8-5