April 20, 2002
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Second-ranked Stanford University (22-1 overall, 8-0 Pac-10) clinched its 15th consecutive Pacific-10 Conference title with a 5-2 road victory over 10th-ranked USC (17-7, 7-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Marks Tennis Stadium.
After not winning the inaugural Pacific-10 Conference Southern Division title in 1987, the Cardinal has won a conference title in each of the last 15 seasons. Since the Pac-10 went to a single division format in 1998, the Cardinal is a perfect 40-0 in conference competition. Stanford was simply dominant in conference play this season, outscoring its eight opponents by a combined 53-3 tally.
Both teams came into the match undefeated in conference play, but the Cardinal left little doubt by capturing the doubles point and quickly winning three singles matches in straight sets.
In doubles play, Stanford posted convincing wins at both No. 1 and No. 2. The Cardinal's Lauren Barnikow (Woodbridge, NJ) and Erin Burdette (Jackson, GA), who are ranked 17th in the country, routed 28th-ranked Anita Loyola (Tucson, AZ) and Luana Magnani (Pasadena, CA) 8-1 at No. 2. In the No. 1 slot, the Cardinal's top-ranked duo of Lauren Kalvaria (Indialantic, FL) and Gabriela Lastra (Reno, NV) knocked off sixth-ranked Tiffany Brymer (Apple Valley, CA) and Jewel Peterson (College Park, GA) 8-5.
Stanford then wrapped up the conference title by winning four of those six singles matches, and in three of those victories, lost five games or less.
Lastra, who is ranked 12th in the country, improved to 27-7 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 35th-ranked Magnani at No. 2, while the 14th-ranked Barnikow rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Loyola at No. 3. The Cardinal also received a straight set win from Keiko Tokuda (Clifton, NJ) at No. 5 and a three-set win from the 24th-ranked Burdette at No. 4.
The post-season begins for Stanford this Thursday-Sunday at the Pacific-10 Conference Individual Championships in Ojai, California. The Cardinal will be represented in the Ojai singles draw by Barnikow, Burdette and Lastra, and in the doubles draw by Barnikow and Burdette.
#2 Stanford 5, #10 USC 2
Doubles (Stanford wins point)
No. 1 - #1 Lauren Kalvaria/Gabriela Lastra (S) d. #6 Tiffany Brymer/Jewel Peterson, 8-5
No. 2 - #17 Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette (S) d. #28 Anita Loyola/Luana Magnani, 8-1
No. 3 - Bernadette Bayani/Melissa Esmero (USC) d. Keiko Tokuda/Story Tweedie-Yates, 8-3
Singles
No. 1 - #6 Jewel Peterson (USC) d. #4 Lauren Kalvaria, 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 - #12 Gabriela Lastra (S) d. #35 Luana Magnani, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 - #14 Lauren Barnikow (S) d. Anita Loyola, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 - #23 Erin Burdette (S) d. #99 Maureen Diaz, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Keiko Tokuda (S) d. Tiffany Brymer, 6-0, 7-5
No. 6 - Melissa Esmero (USC) d. Emilia Anderson, 6-0, 7-6
Records - #2 Stanford 22-1 overall (8-0 Pacific-10 Conference), #10 USC 17-7 (7-1).
Player and team rankings are courtesy of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and Omni Hotels.