May 20, 2000
Malibu, Calif. - The top-ranked Stanford women's tennis team defeated fifth-ranked California 5-0 in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships held at Pepperdine University. The Cardinal advance to the NCAA Championship match to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Stanford will try to defend its 1999 NCAA Championship Title, and looks to give head coach Frank Brennan his 11th NCAA Title.
Against Cal at No. 1 singles, top-ranked Marissa Irvin defeated 18th-ranked Anita Kurimay 6-7, 6-1, 6-1. At No. 2 singles, third-ranked Laura Granville defeated #14 Amy Jensen 6-1, 6-3. Stanford head coach Frank Brennan said, "I think the Granville/Jensen match was one of the best college matches I've ever seen. The level of tennis stayed high through the entire match."
Ninth-ranked Cardinal sophomore Lauren Kalvaria defeated #69 Claire Curran 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 singles, and Keiko Tokuda defeated Cal's Jenny Lee 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. Jennifer Heiser's win over Christina Fusano at No. 5 singles proved to be the clincher for the Cardinal, as Heiser won in three sets, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. The match at No. 4 singles was suspended between Stanford's Gabriela Lastra and Cal's Karoline Borgersen. Senior Teryn Ashley did not play for the second day in a row due to a back injury.
Stanford head coach Frank Brennan said, "It's tough to beat a team four times, which is what we had to do against Cal this season. I have to give the Bears credit, they fought hard. Our team is really tough mentally. Jen (Heiser) has won a lot of key matches for us in her four years, and this was one of them. I'm really proud of our girls. It's been a long season, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
At the NCAA Championships, Stanford has only lost one singles match, when Teryn Ashley lost to Colleen Cheng of Northwestern in the third round. Stanford extends its overall record to 30-0 this season. The Cardinal will take on the Georgia Bulldogs Sunday, May 21st in the NCAA Championship match at Pepperdine University at 1 p.m.
Singles No. 1 #1 Marissa Irvin (S) def. #18 Anita Kurimay (Cal) - 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 No. 2 #3 Laura Granville (S) def. #14 Amy Jensen (Cal) - 6-1, 6-3 No. 3 #9 Lauren Kalvaria (S) def. #69 Claire Curran (Cal) - 7-5, 6-1 No. 4 #60 Gabriela Lastra (S) vs. #61 Karoline Borgersen - match suspended No. 5 Jennifer Heiser (S) def. Christina Fusano (Cal) - 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 *deciding match No. 6 Keiko Tokuda (S) def. Jenny Lee (Cal) - 6-1, 6-3
Final Score: #1 Stanford 5, #5 Cal 0