May 26, 2001
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. - Stanford University's Laura Granville (Chicago, IL/The Latin School) won her second consecutive NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships with a 7-6, 6-3 win over teammate Lauren Kalvaria (Indialantic, FL/Boca Raton Prep) on Saturday afternoon the Lincoln Tennis Center.
Granville, who defeated teammate Marissa Irvin 6-0, 6-4 in the 2000 singles final, is the first back-to-back NCAA Singles Champion since Lisa Raymond of Florida in 1992 and 1993. Granvile's victory also marks the 10th time in 20 years that a Stanford player has won the NCAA singles title. Granville (2000-01), Patty Fendick (1986-87), Sandra Birch (1989, 1991) all won the title twice, while Alycia Moulton (1982), Linda Gates (1985), Debbie Graham (1990) and Lillia Osterloh (1997) won the crown once apiece.
"I don't think what I have done has hit me yet," Granville, who after the match announced her intention to turn pro this summer, said. "It has been bittersweet both years having to play a teammate to win. It is hard not to have mixed emotions playing someone you know. (Lauren) has been such a role model and friend to me these past two years. She was the leader of our Stanford championship team. I congratulate her for an incredible season."
The eighth-seeded and ninth-ranked Kalvaria gave the top-seeded and top-ranked Granville all she could handle. Granville won the first set 6-3, before Kalvaria forced a second set tiebreaker. Granville then won the tiebreaker to clinch the match in an hour and 53 minutes.
"I tried everything today and she had an answer," Kalvaria, a junior who will return to Stanford for the 2001-02 season, said. "To win a title, I wanted to play the best player and today I did. She is incredible. I tried to make her play just one more ball each time, and she did. When my shoelace broke in the second set I think she may have gotten her wind back a little. I thought I might have had an upper hand in the third set, but I couldn't get it to that point. She has been an awesome teammate these past two years, and has taught me so much. I just congratulate her on all she has accomplished."
Granville finishes the season with a 46-1 record and 23-match win streak. Granville, who has 80 of her last 81 matches, concludes her Stanford career with a 93-3 (.969) singles mark. Earlier this season, Granville set an NCAA Women's Tennis record with 58 consecutive singles victories.
"This caps off my college career," Granville said. "It would me difficult for me to come back and do this again ... I have to go back and take final exams. Then, I have to have my wisdom teeth out. I will probably start playing professionally in July or soon thereafter."
Kalvaria finished the 2000-01 season with a 39-4 record. The Cardinal junior won 29 straight singles matches from February 6-May 25, and clinched Stanford's NCAA Team Championship on Monday. She owns a career singles record of 107-21 (.836).
In the doubles final, Granville fell just one set shy of history. Granville and junior Gabriela Lastra (Reno, NV/Reno HS) won the first set from Florida's Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff 6-4, before dropping the next two 6-1 and 6-3. Granville was bidding to become the first player in NCAA women's tennis history to capture the team, singles, and doubles titles in the same year.
The loss was just Granville and Lastra's second of the season in 45 tries. The second-ranked and second-seeded pair won 34 straight matches from January 20-May 25.
NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships
At Stone Mountain, Georgia (Lincoln Tennis Center)
Finals (ITA Rankings in parenthesis)
(1) Laura Granville (Stanford) d. (9) Lauren Kalvaria (Stanford), 6-3, 7-6
NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles Championships
At Stone Mountain, Georgia (Lincoln Tennis Center)
Finals (ITA Rankings in parenthesis)
(4) Whitney Laiho/Jessica Lehnhoff (Florida) d. (2) Laura Granville/Gabriela Lastra (Stanford), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3