May 13, 2000
STANFORD, Calif. - The top-ranked Stanford University women's tennis team advanced to next weekend's NCAA Women's Tennis Team Championships in Malibu with a 5-1 win over 39th-ranked Fresno State University (16-9) on Saturday afternoon at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
The Cardinal (27-0), which defeated Weber State 6-0 in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Women's Tennis Team Championships on Friday, advances to third round action against either #14 Northwestern or #27 Tulsa on Thursday at Pepperdine University. The final four rounds of the tournament, which concludes with Sunday's championship match, will be held in Malibu.
"I thought this was going to be a tough match, and it was," Stanford head coach Frank Brennan said. "Fresno State gave us all we wanted. We got some competitive juices flowing today, and played well. I like our draw in Malibu, and think we're in a good position. We played Pepperdine down there in March, and got a good feel for what lies ahead. There will be some great teams down there, and we'll have to be both lucky and good."
Stanford jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead behind straight set victories from Teryn Ashley (Chestnut Hill, MA/Brookline HS), Laura Granville (Chicago, IL/The Latin School), Jennifer Heiser (Stockton, CA/Lincoln HS) and Lauren Kalvaria (Indianlantic, FL/Boca Raton Prep.). Heiser defeated Ewa Grusiecka (Sopot, Poland/Sopot) 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles, marking the second time in as many days that she did not lose a single game. Ashley defeated Renee Kops-Jones (Fresno, CA/Bullard HS) 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3, and lost just three games in her two weekend singles matches.
Fresno State then jumped on the board when 41st-ranked Kim Niggemeyer (Berlin, Germany/International University) pulled off a major upset at No. 1 singles by knocking off top-ranked Marissa Irvin (Santa Monica, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) in three sets. Niggemeyer prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to hand Irvin her first loss in 21 matches this season.
Stanford later clinched the match at No. 5 singles on the strength of Gabriela Lastra's (Reno, NV/Reno HS) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Anke Beier (Velbert, Germany). The doubles matches were then cancelled because the outcome had already been decided.
#1 Stanford 5, #39 Fresno State 1
Singles
No. 1 - #41 Kim Niggemeyer (FS) d. #1 Marissa Irvin, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 - #3 Laura Granville (S) d. Kandiss Creighton, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 - #38 Teryn Ashley (S) d. Renee Kops-Jones, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 - #9 Lauren Kalvaria (S) d. Liesl Fichtbauer, 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 - #60 Gabriela Lastra (S) d. Anke Beier, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3* (deciding match)
No. 6 - Jennifer Heiser (S) d. Ewa Grusiecka, 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - #4 Teryn Ashley/Marissa Irvin (S) v. Kim Niggemeyer/Renee Kops-Jones, not held
No. 2 - #13 Laura Granville/Keiko Tokuda (S) v. Kandiss Creighton/Anke Beier, not held
No. 3 - #28 Lauren Kalvaria/Gabriela Lastra (S) v. Liesl Fichtbauer/Kelly Ramirez, not held
Records - #39 Fresno State 16-9, #1 Stanford 27-0.