May 22, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- Coming off a marathon match that lasted nearly five hours and stretched into the early hours of Saturday morning, No. 2 Stanford needed only two hours and 35 minutes to complete a 4-0 rout of No. 8 Georgia on Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships.
Next up is a semifinal matchup on Monday at 4 p.m. against Baylor (29-3), which outlasted North Carolina 4-3 in the quarterfinals. In the latest chapter of what has become a fierce postseason rivalry, Stanford knocked off Baylor 4-2 last year during its NCAA title run. But the Bears had ended the Cardinal's season during the two previous years at the NCAA Championships.
The only remaining unbeaten team in Division I, Stanford extended its NCAA-record home winning streak to 183 matches (147 regular season, 36 NCAA Tournament), with its last loss coming back on Feb. 27, 1999 in a 5-4 setback against California.
Meanwhile, Stanford has now won 46 straight matches dating back to its last loss, a 6-1 defeat at UCLA on Feb. 26, 2010.
Sunday's victory was as quick as it was convincing. Stanford (27-0) captured the doubles point, then ran away with three easy wins in a dominating singles competition.
The tone was established in doubles, when Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette steamrolled their way to an 8-1 win over Georgia's Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson at the No. 1 spot. An 8-5 triumph from Carolyn McVeigh and Stacey Tan followed on court three, and the Cardinal snagged a 1-0 lead.
Tan then booked her 25th win of the season, overpowering Cameron Ellis 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 5 spot in a tidy 53 minutes. That result put Stanford in front 2-0, and the Cardinal simply coasted the rest of the way.
Barte stormed past Gullickson 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot and Nicole Gibbs blew by Maho Kowase 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 3 position for the win.
Stanford welcomed the return of Kristie Ahn to the lineup, as the freshman made an appearance at No. 4 despite the result being abandoned. Returning from injury, it was Ahn's first match back since winning the Pac-10 Championship singles title back on May 1.
No. 2 Stanford 4, No. 8 Georgia 0
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 3)
1) No. 3 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. Gilchrist/Gullickson (UGA) 8-1
2) Gibbs/Li (STAN) vs. Fuller/Kimbell (UGA) aban.
3) No. 74 McVeigh/Tan (STAN) d. Ellis/Kowase (UGA) 8-5
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3)
1) No. 3 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. No. 25 Chelsey Gullickson (UGA), 6-1, 6-4
2) No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) vs. No. 59 Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) aban.
3) No. 18 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) d. No. 79 Maho Kowase (UGA), 6-2, 6-3
4) Kristie Ahn (STAN) vs. Lilly Kimbell (UGA) aban.
5) No. 43 Stacey Tan d. No. 86 Cameron Ellis (UGA) 6-0, 6-0
6) Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) vs. Kate Fuller (UGA) aban.