May 15, 2009
NCAA Championships Tournament CentralCOLLEGE STATION, Texas- Csilla Borsanyi outlasted Veronica Li 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 4 position to rally No. 4 Baylor past No. 13 Stanford 4-3 in an NCAA Championships Round of 16 match that took seven hours to complete and featured numerous momentum changes on both sides.
When it was all said and done at 2:12 a.m. local time, Baylor (27-4, 11-0 Big 12) had punched its ticket to the quarterfinal round for the second straight season. Meanwhile, Stanford (19-5, 6-2 Pac-10) was denied its bid for a 28th consecutive 20-win season and saddled with its earliest postseason exit since a 5-4 loss to Duke in the round of 16 back in 1998.
Friday's loss was especially tough to swallow considering how well the Cardinal performed against one of the teams predicted by many to contend for the national championship. Playing the unfamiliar role of underdog in the postseason, Stanford fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits only to fall short in a match that will be remembered for years to come.
"I haven't seen anything like this, with a match ending after 2 a.m.," said head coach Lele Forood, shaking her head in disbelief when told her team had been competing for essentially over seven hours overall (5:45 excluding delays). "This was an epic college tennis match and we just came up a little short. There were ups and downs in every match. It ended 4-3, and for awhile the match looked like it could go either way based on different points."
"Stanford played a great match," said Baylor head coach Joey Scrivano. "Nobody deserved to lose tonight. We were very fortunate to win. We didn't play our best tennis. Stanford was really on top of us from the beginning of the night. We just stuck around. I'm still in a little bit of a shock that we won it, because it didn't look good for a long time. It looked like everything was against us. This was a huge win for us."
Originally scheduled to start at 6 p.m. as the final contest of a four-match slate on Stadium Court, the contest was pushed back an hour with play running behind throughout the day. Then after the doubles competition, play was halted due to a power outage at the facility that kept both teams off the court for one hour and 15 minutes.
When singles play eventually got underway at 9:45 p.m., the lights were only working on three of the six Stadium courts. So the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee made the decision to play Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles, and start the remaining matches once any of the three aforementioned courts became available in order of the ladder (No. 4, then No. 5, then No. 6).
Meanwhile, Notre Dame had just defeated Clemson 4-0 on the Grandstand courts, so the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles were shifted there while Nos. 1-3 continued to be played inside the Stadium. The unique format presented two scenarios: a Stanford sweep at the top three spots of the order would clinch the match or the result would ultimately be decided on the back courts.
Stanford was already looking to avenge a 4-1 loss to Baylor in last year's quarterfinal round, at the time representing the Cardinal's earliest postseason exit since a second round departure in 1998. Making Friday's match even more of a challenge was the large contingent of Baylor fans who made the 92-mile drive to College Station to support the Lady Bears.
And for the first hour on Friday, Stanford was successful in silencing the crowd and gaining quick confidence as the Cardinal claimed a grueling doubles point to take a critical 1-0 lead. The No. 3 all-freshman team of Logan Hansen and Li coasted to an 8-1 win, followed later by a hard-fought 8-6 win at the No. 1 position by Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette. Baylor was leading 6-5 on court two, but the match was suspended. For the 20th time in 24 matches this year, Stanford had claimed the doubles point.
However, five minutes after doubles was completed, the power outage halted play. Teams huddled together and fans stood around waiting for the lights to come back on as the NCAA Women's Tennis Committee discussed contingency plans.
Meanwhile, the Notre Dame-Clemson match occupied the Grandstand courts at the time, so when three courts with lighting became available inside the Stadium, the decision was made to play the top-three spots of singles.
Lenka Broosova wasted little time in downing Burdette 6-3, 6-1 in a battle of hard-hitters at the No. 2 spot, evening the match at 1-1.
On court three, Jessica Nguyen hung on for a 6-4 victory in the first set. But Jelena Stanivuk stormed back to take the next two sets 6-3, 6-1 and hand the Lady Bears their first lead of the match at 2-1.
Barte responded with a 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Taylor Ormond at the top spot of the lineup, improving to 33-5 overall this year while winning for the 23rd time over the last 25 matches. Barte's win tied the match at 2-2.
With Stanford's doubles momentum and Baylor's singles lead both a distant memory, the match would be decided at the lower three spots of the lineup on the Grandstand courts.
Li was victorious in her first set on court four, but Baylor had taken the first sets at Nos. 5 and 6. And after claiming a 7-6 (7-2) tiebreaker in the opening set, Nina Secerbegovic stayed strong and wrapped up a 6-2 win in the second set to put the Lady Bears in front once again at 3-2.
With one point left to secure the match, Baylor looked to be in good shape with juniors Borsanyi and Kasia Siwosz opposing freshmen Li and Hansen for Stanford.
Just as quickly as Li won her first set 6-4, Hansen found herself in a 6-1 hole. But the momentum changed very fast on court six, as Hansen stormed back to win her first three-set match of the year in five tries with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Siwosz. Hansen's comeback tied the match at 3-3, as the crowd raced over to court four to watch the finale.
Finally after three hours and 12 minutes of play at the No. 4 spot, Borsanyi emerged with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Li to clinch the win at 2:12 a.m. local time.
Despite the loss, Forood was pleased at the gutty performances and overall development by rookies Hansen and Li.
"They progressed so well throughout the year and both players came a long way," said Forood. "Logan toughed out her match tonight and got us to 3-3.Veronica started hitting beautifully in the first set, but Borsanyi continued to fight and I think her experience ultimately came into play. I'm very proud of both Logan and Veronica."
No. 4 Baylor 4, No. 13 Stanford 3
DOUBLES
1) No. 8 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 13 Broosova/Borsanyi (BAY) 8-6
2) No. 65 Ormond/Stanivuk (BAY) led No. 38 McVeigh/Nguyen (STAN) 6-5, susp.
3) Hansen/Li (STAN) d. Secerbegovic/Siwosz (BAY) 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
1) No. 7 Hilary Barte (STAN) d. No. 39 Taylor Ormond (BAY) 6-1, 7-5
2) No. 33 Lenka Broosova (BAY) d. No. 88 Lindsay Burdette (STAN) 6-3, 6-1
3) No. 44 Jelena Stanivuk (BAY) d. No. 73 Jessica Nguyen (STAN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
4) No. 70 Csilla Borsanyi (BAY) d. Veronica Li (STAN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5) Nina Secerbegovic (BAY) d. No. 101 Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) 7-6 (2), 6-2
6) Logan Hansen (STAN) d. Kasia Siwosz (BAY) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 5, 6, 4