Feb. 9, 2002
MADISON, Wisc. - On Saturday afternoon, No. 5 Georgia was able to do something against the No. 1 Stanford women's tennis team that no other team had been able to do in two seasons- win a dual match. That illustrious streak came to an end Saturday afternoon in Madison, as the Bulldogs upset the Cardinal 4-3 in the semifinals of the National Team Indoor Championships. Georgia advances to face Vanderbilt in tomorrow's title showdown.
Ironically, Georgia was the last team to defeat Stanford prior to Saturday- downing the Cardinal in the 2000 NCAA Championship. The Bulldogs (6-0) got just enough in this match against Stanford, which saw its 35-match winning streak come to a halt.
Georgia received victories at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to claim the early advantage and a 1-0 lead. The No. 3 Cardinal tandem of Emilia Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Lauren Kalvaria (Indialantic, Fla.) recorded the only Stanford win, notching an 8-3 triumph.
The singles slate was tightly contested as well, with the Cardinal able to only snatch victories at the Nos. 2, 4 and 6 positions. Sophomore Lauren Barnikow continued her recent strong play with a 6-4, ret. victory against Georgia's Mariel Verban at No. 2. Cardinal netters Keiko Tokuda (Clifton, N.J.) and Story Tweedie-Yates (Redmond, Wash.) also picked up singles wins in the loss.
Nine of the twelve singles competitors in the match are currently ranked nationally, along with three of the six doubles teams participating in Saturday's tilt.
Stanford finished with a 2-1 overall mark in this year's tournament, defeating host Wisconsin 7-0 in the opening round and Wake Forest 5-2 in yesterday's match.
The Cardinal now looks ahead to a dual-match with UNLV at home next Friday, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Georgia 4, Stanford 3
Singles
1. No. 18 Agata Cioroch (GEO) def. No. 11Gabriela Lastra (STAN) 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 42 Lauren Barnikow (STAN) def. No. 23 Mariel Verban (G) 6-4, 0-0 ret
3. No. 36 Anne Nguyen (GEO) def. No. 10 Erin Burdette (STAN) 6-1, 6-1
4. No. 52 Keiko Tokuda (STAN) def. No. 83 Lori Grey (GEO) 1-2 ret
5. No. 74 Tina Hojnik (GEO) def. Emilia Anderson (STAN) 6-4, 6-3
6. Story Tweedie-Yates (STAN) def. Jeanette Mattsson (GEO) default
Doubles
1. No. 20 Agata Cioroch/Lori Grey (GEO) d. No. 6 Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette (STAN)
8-32. Tina Hojnik/Mariel Verban (GEO) d. Gabriela Lastra/Keiko Tokuda (STAN) 9-8 (4)
3. Emilie Anderson/Lauren Kalvaria (STAN) d. Anne Nguyen/Jeanette Mattsson (GEO) 8-3