May 23, 2011
STANFORD, Calif.- Thanks once again to its superior lineup depth, Stanford is back in the national championship match.
The Cardinal (28-0) will face Florida in a rematch of last year's NCAA championship on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Stanford has owned the edge in the budding rivalry, winning 4-3 in last year's final and also posting a 4-2 victory over the Gators to capture the National Team Indoors Championship crown back on Feb. 21.
Stanford is back in this position after a 4-1 win over Baylor (29-4) on Monday night in the semifinals. The Cardinal has now eliminated the Lady Bears in back-to-back seasons, returning the favor after Baylor accomplished the same feat during the two previous seasons.
The only remaining unbeaten team in Division I, Stanford extended its NCAA-record home winning streak to 184 matches (147 regular season, 37 NCAA Tournament), with its last loss coming back on Feb. 27, 1999 in a 5-4 setback against California.
Meanwhile, Stanford has now won 47 straight matches dating back to its last loss, a 6-1 defeat at UCLA on Feb. 26, 2010.
The keys on Monday night for Stanford were securing the doubles point and picking up a pair of victories at the bottom of the singles lineup.
After a split on courts one and three, the No. 2 team of Nicole Gibbs and Veronica Li downed Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk 8-6 to award Stanford the doubles point.
Baylor got on the scoreboard early in singles, with Stanivuk notching a win as Kristie Ahn was forced to retire during her first set at No. 4. Nursing an ankle sprain, Ahn was playing in only her second match since winning the Pac-10 Championship singles title back on May 1.
However, that was the only momentum Baylor would have all night.
Stacey Tan tallied a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court five, with Veronica Li registering a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at the No. 6 spot to put Stanford up 3-0.
That left the top three courts in progress, with Mallory Burdette providing the clincher at the No. 2 position on the strength of a 7-5, 6-4 win over Nina Secerbegovic.
No. 2 Stanford 4, No. 7 Baylor 1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2)
1) No. 3 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 70 Fillipiak/Secerbegovic (BAY) 8-2
2) Gibbs/Li (STAN) d. Ormond/Stanivuk (BAY) 8-6
3) Nakic/Novakova (BAY) d. No. 74 McVeigh/Tan (STAN) 8-6
Singles (Order of Finish: 4, 5, 6, 2)
1) No. 3 Hilary Barte (STAN) vs. No. 14 Sona Novakova (BAY) aban.
2) No. 22 Mallory Burdette (STAN) d. No. 49 Nina Secerbegovic (BAY) 7-5, 6-4
3) No. 18 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) vs. No. 47 Diana Nakic (BAY) aban.
4) No. 112 Jelena Stanivuk (BAY) d. No. 15 Kristie Ahn (STAN) 1-2 (retired)
5) No. 43 Stacey Tan (STAN) d. Karolina Filipiak (BAY) 6-1, 6-4
6) Veronica Li (STAN) d. Taylor Ormond (BAY) 6-4, 6-3