May 10, 2003
STANFORD, Calif. - The top-seeded and top-ranked Stanford University women's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the 22nd consecutive year after a 4-0 second round home win over 42nd-ranked Michigan on Saturday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center.
The Cardinal, which has reached at least the NCAA Semifinals in each of the last 18 seasons, improved to 22-1 on the year. The Wolverines concluded the season at 14-10, which marked their highest win total since the 1996-97 campaign (21-5).
"I like where we're at right now," Stanford head coach Lele Forood said. "Our top singles players are really on their games, and I thought we were better today in doubles than we were yesterday."
Stanford will now advance to the final four rounds of the NCAA Team Championship at the University of Florida on May 15-18. The Cardinal will face 17th-ranked Harvard (19-3) in the round of 16 on Thursday, May 15 at a time to be announced. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two schools. Harvard advanced to the round of 16 with a 4-1 win over 23rd-ranked Oklahoma State on Friday and a 4-3 victory over 22nd-ranked Arizona on Saturday.
The Cardinal captured the doubles point against the Wolverines with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Junior Emilia Anderson (Cincinnati, OH) and sophomore Story Tweedie-Yates (Redmond, WA) posted an 8-4 win over senior Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario, Canada) and junior Kimberly Plaushines (Oconomowoc, WI) at No. 3, and freshmen Alice Barnes (Cambridge, England) and Amber Liu (La Mesa, CA) clinched the point with an 8-1 victory over junior Christine Nolan (Glenview, IL) and freshman Debra Streifler (Highland Park. IL) at No. 2.
Stanford, which has now won 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament matches dating back to 2001, locked up the win with three straight set singles victories.
Tweedie-Yates gave the Cardinal a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Streifler at No. 6, and sophomore Erin Burdette (Jackson, GA) moved the hosts one point away from the victory with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over sophomore Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) at No. 3.
Liu, who is ranked fourth in the nation, then clinched a Stanford victory for the second time in as many days with an easy 6-1, 6-0 win over 106th-ranked Michelle Da Costa (Huber Heights, OH) at No. 1.
#1 Stanford 4, #42 Michigan 0
Doubles (Stanford wins point)
No. 1 - #1 Lauren Barnikow/Erin Burdette (S) v. Michelle DaCosta/Leanne Rutherford(M), suspended (Stanford led 7-3)
No. 2 - Alice Barnes/Amber Liu (S) d. Christine Nolan/Debra Streifler, 8-1
No. 3 - Emilia Anderson/Story Tweedie-Yates (S) d. Joanne Musgrove/Kimberly Plaushines, 8-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Singles
No. 1 - #4 Amber Liu (S) d. #106 Michelle DaCosta, 6-1, 6-0*
No. 2 - #16 Lauren Barnikow (S) v. Christine Nolan (M), suspended (Stanford led 6-1,4-3)
No. 3 - #27 Erin Burdette (S) d. Leanne Rutherford, 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 - #11 Alice Barnes (S) v. Kavitha Tipirneni (M), suspended (Michigan led 6-4, 3-1)
No. 5 - Emilia Anderson (S) v. Kimberly Plaushines (M), suspended (Stanford led 6-2, 4-2)
No. 6 - Story Tweedie-Yates (S) d. Debra Streifler, 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 1
* - Clinching victory.
Records - #42 Michigan 14-10, #1 Stanford 22-1.