May 18, 2006
Results | Notes
Stanford, Calif. - Top-ranked and top-seeded Stanford improved to 27-0 on the year with a 4-0 win over 16th-seeded TCU this evening at the Taube Tennis Stadium in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championship. The Cardinal advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time in the 25-year history of the event and will take on the eighth-seeded Blue Devils of Duke in tomorrow at 6 p.m. on the Taube Stadium Courts.
Despite a late start and an early deficit in doubles, with the Cardinal pairs trailing on courts one and two, the Stanford-filled crowd helped spur the Cardinal on, as Lejla Hodzic and Jessica Nguyen notched the first victory on court three and the top-ranked duo of Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey fought back for the 8-6 victory over 14th-ranked Helena Besovic and Ana Cetnik to clinch the doubles point.
"TCU started out very motivated and started off in the doubles play very well," said Forood. "We had to work really hard to get back into some of those matches. Once our team got the doubles point I think our team was pretty inspired to start the singles. And I think that showed."
In singles, the Cardinal quickly tallied six first-set wins, setting up a race to the finish. Barnes, ranked No. 5 in the nation scored first, putting Stanford up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 28 Helena Besovic. No. 10 Theresa Logar finished moments later, netting a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 115 Anna Sydorska. With only one more point needed to clinch the match, eighth-ranked Amber Liu, 11th-ranked Yelsey and 34th-ranked Durkin were all within striking distance, but No. 54 Whitney Deason scored the last point with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court five over Kewa Nichols.
Stanford, which began its match an hour and a half late because the Cardinal Florida's 4-3 and four hour and 20 minute victory over UCLA, improved to 27-0 on the year, extending its record win streak to 83-straight matches and 104-consecutive victories on their home court. Stanford has won 15 straight NCAA Tournament matches and 32 of its last 33 postseason duals, while head coach Lele Forood is 32-1 in NCAA postseason action with a 165-3 as a head coach.
TCU ends the season with a 23-7 mark. Duke, who knocked off conference rival North Carolina, 4-1, this evening now stands at 20-7 on the year. It is the 13th quarterfinal appearance for the Blue Devils and first since 2004.