May 25, 2009
NCAA Championships Tournament Central Barte/Burdette Results (PDF)
NCAA Championships Doubles Bracket (PDF)
STANFORD, Calif.- Stanford's top doubles team of sophomore Hilary Barte and junior Lindsay Burdette came up just short in their quest for a national title, falling 6-3, 6-4 to California's Mari Andersson and Jana Juricova on Monday morning at the NCAA Championships at College Station, Texas.
Barte and Burdette were bidding to become Stanford's first NCAA doubles champions since 2005, when Alice Barnes and Erin Burdette defeated Amber Liu and Anne Yelsey 6-3, 6-4 in an all-Stanford final. Five Cardinal doubles teams have been crowned NCAA champions, with victories coming in 1984 (Linda Gates, Elise Burgin), 1985 (Linda Gates, Leigh Anne Eldredge), 1990 (Meredith McGrath, Teri Whitlinger), 2002 (Lauren Kalvaria, Gabriela Lastra) and 2005 (Alice Barnes, Erin Burdette).
Instead, it was Cal's Andersson and Juricova, ranked No. 7 nationally, winning their second match in three attempts this season against Barte and Burdette, ranked No. 8 in the country. The two regular season meetings resulted in a split, with the Golden Bear duo winning 9-8 (2) back on Mar. 7 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium and the Cardinal tandem responding with an 8-4 victory on Apr. 18 in the regular season finale at Berkeley.
On Monday morning, Andersson and Juricova jumped out to an early lead in the first set and cruised. Tied 1-1, California won the next two games to take a 3-1 edge. After Stanford climbed back within 3-2, California won two of the next three games to build a 5-3 lead. The Golden Bears held serve in the final game of the set to win 6-3, representing the first time in NCAA Tournament competition that Barte and Burdette lost the first set.
Barte and Burdette grabbed their first lead of the day in the second set, going in front 1-0 after Burdette held serve. Each team held serve until Burdette was broken in the fifth game and California took a 3-2 lead. The Golden Bears extended their lead to 4-2, only to see the Cardinal battle back and tie the set at 4-4 following a lengthy game that included four deuces. But California responded once again, taking the final two games for a 6-4 win.
Earning All-America honors for the second straight season as a doubles team, Barte and Burdette wrap up a stellar 2008-09 campaign with records of 27-8 (overall) and 20-4 (duals). Monday's loss in the national championship snapped a 13-match winning streak while the duo posted a 15-7 mark against nationally-ranked opponents and an 8-4 ledger against Pac-10 foes.
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Burdette has received All-America accolades in doubles all three years while Barte has now earned All-America recognition in both singles and doubles for two consecutive seasons.
NCAA Doubles Championship: No. 8 Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette (STAN)
Round of 16: No. 8 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 32 Lesniak/Malyarschikova (SMU) 6-2, 6-0
Quarterfinals: No. 8 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 24 Lui/Rose (NW) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Semifinals: No. 8 Barte/Burdette (STAN) d. No. 10 Pluskota/Whoriskey (TENN) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
Final: No. 7 Andersson/Juricova (CAL) d. No. 8 Barte/Burdette (STAN) 6-3, 6-4
QUOTES
Lindsay Burdette"It was real tough. They put a lot of pressure on us, and we weren't quite as sharp as we could have been. It's always a little nerve-racking being in the finals. It's the last dance, and everybody knows that. They were under the same conditions though, and they handled it well." Jana Juricova, California
"I feel great but I am kind of relieved. It has been a long two weeks, but I am really happy. Especially after we lost in the finals of the team matches, this felt the same all over again, so I just tried to not get too excited until the end." Mari Andersson, California
"I feel really excited. I don't think I've really understood it yet, but it's great. We expected a tough match. From day one, we've just kept fighting until the end. We just tried to play our game. We've played them twice already, so we kind of knew what to expect. We had to play really well to win today."