May 27, 2011
Taube Family Tennis Center - Stanford, Calif.
Round of 16 Singles Matches
MEN'S RESULTS
No. 1 Steve Johnson (1), USC, d. No. 11 John-Patrick Smith, TENNESSEE, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (2)
No. 3 Rhyne Williams (4), TENNESSEE, d. No. 14 Guillermo Gomez, GEORGIA TECH, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 Blaz Rola (5), OHIO STATE, d. No. 21 Evan King, MICHIGAN, 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 Michael Shabaz (3), VIRGINIA, d. No. 16 Austen Childs, LOUISVILLE, 7-5, 6-4
No. 8 Henrique Cunha (8), DUKE, d. No. 15 Dennis Nevolo, ILLINOIS, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 9 Bradley Klahn, STANFORD, d. No. 22 Jose Hernandez, NORTH CAROLINA, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
No. 36 Marcel Thiemann, MISSISSIPPI, d. No. 47 Ray Sarmiento, USC, 6-4, 6-4
No. 45 Tennys Sandgren, TENNESSEE, d. No. 28 Sebastian Fanselow, PEPPERDINE, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
MEN'S QUOTES
No. 1 Steve Johnson (1), USC
"He played really good tennis. In the first set we both came out maybe a little nervous or tired and there were a couple of breaks of serve, but then it just turned into regular tennis. He's hitting big serves and I am hitting big serves. For a big guy, he has some unbelievable defense. He gets his racquet on every ball. I was having to hit three or four winners on a regular guy to get one point. It's draining because he gets to every ball and just makes you keep fighting. It's no easy task. I felt like I was hitting my forehand pretty good and thought I would get a winner, then it comes back. I thought I hit another one and then it comes back. He just gets his racquet on everything and it is just not easy to win."
"I played very well in the first and the third set, especially towards the end of the third. I think I just lost my mental focus in the second set and just kind of let the last week and this week get to me. I was just kind of tiring. I found a couple lucky breaks in the 4-2 or 4-3 game and that kind of changed the match around."
No. 4 Blaz Rola (5), OHIO STATE
"I just played real well. My first serve percentage was high and my forehand was working really well. It also helps that I did not hurt myself with stupid mistakes. He made a few uncharacteristic errors, but I'm very happy to get through with this match."
No. 5 Michael Shabaz (3), VIRGINIA
"It was a close match, [Childs] was up a break in the first set and I was able to battle back. I played some really good points late in the first set, which was able to ultimately make me relax after the first set. I played another solid game early in the second set and I was able to break and hold out and I played a really good game in the end."
No. 8 Henrique Cunha (8), DUKE
"I think in the first set, [Nevolo] played really well. He was really aggressive and the key for me was to stay mentally strong and start being more aggressive in the second and third sets, and if I could serve well, that was the key today."
No. 9 Bradley Klahn, STANFORD
"I started out the first set OK. I was serving pretty well. That kind of kept me going and I was able to get one break there at the end of the first set. Then he really picked his game up. He looked loose and was just swinging away. He pinned me back and was making me play too defensively. After the injury timeout, he came out swinging, but I hung around. He had quite the contingent out there and was pumping himself up after every point that he won. When he was serving at 4-3, I told myself to get strong in the legs and just make sure I get my feet under every ball. Then I started getting behind the balls and getting more pace and more depth and was able to draw some errors out of him and the was the key right there. I was working more tactics better. I was coming on the offense more and playing more aggressively the last three games."
"I certainly want to be on the offense. I don't want to be running all over scrapping balls so I just told myself that whatever happens I need to just start swinging and push him further back. I think I ripped off 11 straight points when I was down 4-3 because I got the confidence going and was raising my game."
No. 45 Tennys Sandgren, TENNESSEE
"(Fanselow) was a really good player. I just tried to focus on holding serve because he had a good serve and a big forehand. I didn't want to go down a break in the first set. We held serve and finally he gave me a window of opportunity to close out the first set."
"I hadn't really hit a whole lot of winners the whole match. I was kind of counter-punching, making him make the mistakes. I was running a lot. It's hard to close out the match when you're playing like that and not making first serves. It puts a lot more pressure on me to close it out, when I'm not closing out anything. He was in control and stepped up his game."
WOMEN'S RESULTS
No. 1 Jana Juricova (1), CALIFORNIA, d. No. 16 Venise Chan, WASHINGTON, 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Hilary Barte (3), STANFORD, d. No. 10 Maria Mosolova, NORTHWESTERN, 6-3, 6-2
No. 17 Lauren Embree, FLORIDA, d. No. 63 Leslie Hureau, INDIANA, 6-1, 6-0
No. 18 Nicole Gibbs, STANFORD, d. No. 7 Allie Will (6), FLORIDA, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3)
No. 23 Mari Andersson, CALIFORNIA, d. No. 12 Jacqueline Cako, ARIZONA STATE, 6-3, 6-0
No. 25 Chelsey Gullickson, GEORGIA, d. No. 13 Zoe De Bruycker, NORTH CAROLINA, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
No. 43 Stacey Tan, STANFORD, d. No. 21 Aeriel Ellis, TEXAS, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
No. 49 Nina Secerbegovic, BAYLOR, d. No. 27 Lindsey Hardenbergh, VIRGINIA, 6-2, 6-3
WOMEN'S QUOTES
No. 1 Jana Juricova (1), CALIFORNIA
"I felt pretty good. Obviously it is getting tougher with every round so I think I handled it pretty well. It was a good match and I had fun and got to work on some stuff again, so it was good."
No. 3 Hilary Barte (3), STANFORD
"I knew she would come out even more fiery after beating her in the team competition. So I knew I had to come prepared for a battle. I think I was a little more patient on when I was coming in. Lele (head coach Lele Forood) and I worked on that a lot. Just an overall better job of picking my spots on my approaches."
"Obviously, it's hard to play your teammates but it's great for the school and the fans. But I would rather it be us than any other team."
No. 18 Nicole Gibbs, STANFORD
"I'm still in shock a little bit. I kind of was very resigned to the fact that I was about to lose that match and I just kept swinging. I'm going to go take care of my body and get ready to hopefully have a good match tomorrow."
No. 23 Mari Andersson, CALIFORNIA
"It went pretty good today. I've lost to [Cako] twice during the season and last time had match point and I lost. As I said yesterday, every match could be my last one so I'm really just trying to enjoy it. We have a lot of fans here which is great and a lot of friends and people around. I'm really just trying to enjoy every match I play now. I'm so relaxed when I play and I've played better and better throughout the season and its great to be able to play this well here."
No. 25 Chelsea Gullickson, GEORGIA
"I came out really well in the first set, making my shots and hitting deep balls. She was making a few more errors in the first, but then also making more balls in the second set. I kind of let my nerves take over. In the third set, I was solid and did a good job of not doing too much."
"At this point in the tournament, it's all about controlling your nerves. I did a really good job with it last year and have the expereience and confidence from that coming into this year. So I think it does help me and give me an upper hand."
No. 43 Stacey Tan, STANFORD
"It was a great match, really tough, [Ellis] is a great player. I think she plays No. 1 at Texas. Getting to the quarterfinals is an amazing feeling, can't wait to play tomorrow."
No. 49 Nina Secerbegovic, BAYLOR
"This is my second time that I actually made it to the quarterfinals so I was really nervous because every time I want to get better and at least make it to semifinals this year. She was pretty good today, she had almost the same game as I did, so at some points I had to adjust. It was really difficult, she came back in the second set and started making balls and I started missing a little bit. But I knew in my head that I needed to be solid and I'm really happy that I stayed calm because if I get nervous I know I will get down. I'm actually really happy that it didn't make it to the third set and that I won."