Feb. 20, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- No. 1 Stanford continues to overpower the opposition at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, blanking No. 4 North Carolina 4-0 in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon for its most recent victory.
With the win, Stanford (8-0, 0-0 Pac-10) advanced to Monday's championship match. The Cardinal will be attempting to capture the tournament title for the first time since shutting out Texas 4-0 back in 2006.
Stanford will meet No. 2 Florida, a 4-1 winner over Duke in the semifinals, on Monday at 8 a.m. PT. Stanford and Florida will be facing off for the first time since last year's NCAA Championship match, which the Cardinal won 4-3.
Sunday's victim was No. 4 North Carolina (7-2, 0-0 ACC), the latest in a string of nationally-ranked opponents easily handled by Stanford.
The doubles point was extremely hard-fought, with Stanford locking up a 1-0 lead thanks to a win from its top duo. With the first two matches split, the third-ranked team of Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette outlasted sixth-ranked Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale 9-7.
After the doubles thriller, it was all Stanford. Nicole Gibbs rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 position before Barte defeated Zoe DeBruycker for the second time this year with a 7-6, 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot.
Burdette then held on for a 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 victory over Shinann Featherston at the No. 2 spot, clinching the match.
No. 1 Stanford 4, No. 4 North Carolina 0
DOUBLES
1)No. 3 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 6 Featherston/McHale (UNC) 9-7
2)Ahn/Gibbs (STAN) d. Durisic/Lyons (UNC) 8-0
3)DeBruycker/Stone (UNC) d. McVeigh/Tan (STAN) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
SINGLES
1)No. 2 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. No. 13 Zoe DeBruycker (UNC) 7-6, 6-2
2)No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) d. No. 75 Shinann Featherston (UNC) 6-2, 6-7, 6-1
3)No. 20 Kristie Ahn (STAN) vs. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) aban.
4)No. 21 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) d. No. 119 Jelena Durisic (UNC) 6-2, 6-1
5)No. 87 Stacey Tan (STAN) vs. No. 93 Lauren McHale (UNC) aban.
6)Jennifer Yen (STAN) vs. Haley Hemm (UNC) aban.
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2