May 14, 2011
| Stay tuned to www.gostanford.com's Countdown To The Championships for daily coverage of the 2011 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in the form of feature stories, historical profiles, match previews, recaps and other tournament news. One of the nation's finest tennis venues, the Taube Family Tennis Center is playing host to its second combined men's and women's NCAA Tennis Championships, as the tournament's current format was introduced at Stanford in 2006.
In today's edition of Countdown To The Championships, the postseason rolls on with three matches. A men's second round match and two women's first round contests are on the docket. |
| "It's not very often that college kids get a chance to play in a venue such as the Taube Family Tennis Stadium. It's cool to look up from a match and see all this support, all these people who are passionate about tennis and Stanford. We are really lucky to play here, with state-of-the-art courts and scoreboards, a beautiful trophy room, awesome locker room, office and team lounge. I've spent so much time here it is almost like a second home, and I couldn't have asked for anything better."<> Senior Jennifer Yen. Known as the "glue" of the Cardinal women's tennis team, Yen started at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles on Saturday afternoon. |
| Sunday, May 15: Saturday's winners from the women's first round will meet at 12 p.m. in the second round on Sunday. Will Stanford advance? Monday, May 16: In addition to the matches, there are several other events, activities and banquets scheduled during the NCAA Championships. Stay tuned for a complete listing. Tuesday, May 17: Time to preview the NCAA Championships round of 16 field, focusing in on where both Stanford teams stand heading into the weekend. |
Men's Tournament Central | Women's Tournament Central
STANFORD, Calif.- No. 2 Stanford easily handled unranked Illinois-Chicago 4-0 on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Making its 30th consecutive postseason appearance, the Cardinal (24-0, 8-0 Pac-10) simply overwhelmed the Flames (18-5, 8-0 Horizon League) in taking its first step toward defending its 2010 NCAA team title.
It was a familiar outcome for Stanford, which has now won 180 dual matches in a row (147 regular season, 33 NCAA Tournament) on its home court- a streak that spans more than 12 years and is the longest of any sport in Division I athletics. The Cardinal has not suffered a home loss since Feb. 27, 1999, when No. 4 California pulled a 5-4 upset.
The Cardinal is the only unbeaten team in Division I and has won 43 consecutive contests overall dating back to its last loss, a 6-1 setback at UCLA on Feb. 26, 2010.
Despite playing without lineup regulars Kristie Ahn and Stacey Tan, Stanford still had enough depth to prevail.
The Cardinal blazed through doubles play to take a 1-0 lead. After Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette cruised to an 8-1 win on court one, Nicole Gibbs and Veronica Li notched an 8-0 victory over on court two.
Gibbs' postseason debut resembled many of her regular season matches, as the Cardinal rookie recorded a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 3 position. Gibbs has now won 19 sets this year by a score of 6-0.
Carolyn McVeigh followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the No. 5 spot to put Stanford in front 3-0. It was the 97th career victory for McVeigh.
Barte provided the clincher at No. 1, shaking off a 6-1 loss in the first set with back-to-back 6-0 set victories.
Stanford will face No. 27 Pepperdine in the second round on Sunday at 11 a.m. Originally scheduled for 12 p.m., the match has been moved up one hour due to impending rain in the forecast. A berth in next weekend's NCAA Championships is on the line.
No. 2 Stanford 4, Illinois-Chicago 0
DOUBLES
(1) No. 3 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. Simonetti/Tsertsvadze (UIC) 8-1
(2) Gibbs/Li (STAN) d. Hricistova/Kovaleva (UIC) 8-0
(3) Knoppe/Kathryn Sharples (UIC) led McVeigh/Yen (STAN) 5-1, aban.
Order of Finish: 2, 1
SINGLES
(1) No. 3 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. Mariya Kovaleva (UIC) 1-6, 6-0, 6-0
(2) No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) led Teona Tsertsvadze (UIC) 2-6, 6-3, aban.
(3) No. 18 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) d. Ilinca Cristescu (UIC) 6-0, 6-1
(4) Veronica Li (STAN) led Elisa Simonetti (UIC) 6-3, 2-4, aban.
(5) Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) d. Jana Knoppe (UIC) 6-2, 6-1
(6) Jennifer Yen (STAN) led Linda Hricistova (UIC) 6-2, 5-3, aban.
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
No. 27 Pepperdine 4, No. 36 Long Beach State 2
DOUBLES
(1) Armstrong/Dallara (LBSU) led No. 65 Bhargava/Zalameda (PEPP) 1-7, retired, inj.
(2) No. 53 Granillo/Issara (PEPP) d. Alawi/Manasse (LBSU) 8-3
(3) Colffer/Walters (PEPP) d. Cantlay/Luzar (LBSU) 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2
SINGLES
(1) Anais Dallara (LBSU) d. Arianna Colfer (PEPP) 6-1, 6-1
(2) No. 122 Anamika Bhargava (PEPP) d. Deborah Armstrong (LBSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
(3) Rachel Manasse (LBSU) led Ale Granillo (PEPP) 6-4, 2-6, 6-5, aban.
(4) Khunpak Issara (PEPP) d. Jaklin Alawi (LBSU) 6-4, 6-1
(5) Sarah Cantlay (LBSU) d. Megan Moore (PEPP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
(6) Ali Walters (PEPP) d. Ania Jeczmionka (LBSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 2, 5, 6
by Brian Risso, Athletics Communications/Media Relations. Special thanks to Rick Bale.