Florida Gators
at Riviera All-American
UF Senior Sweeps National Women's Tennis Titles
Sunday, October 14, 2001 | Women's Tennis
Florida's Jessica Lehnhoff (Delray Beach, FL) became only the third player in collegiate tennis history to sweep the singles and doubles titles at the Riviera All-American Championships when she captured both crowns Sunday afternoon at the Riviera Tennis Club.
The Gator senior dominated Old Dominion's Nataly Cahana 6-2, 6-0 in the singles final to win her first collegiate grand slam singles title.
Lehnhoff then paired with Gator sophomore Lindsay Dawaf (Olney, MD) and defeated Oklahoma State's Linda Faltynova and Katarzyna Kolodynska 8-4 in the doubles final.
"This was an impressive run for both Jessica and Lindsay," UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. "Not only are they great tennis players with great talents, but this week they really learned to be resilient and tough-skinned. They learned to be mentally tough because there were several points during the singles and doubles matches where the going got tough, but they stepped up their play. To defeat the defending champions in the doubles semifinals on Saturday and then to have the composure to win both titles today speaks volumes about their fitness and mental toughness. That's what I'm especially proud of."
Lehnhoff joins only two other players who have ever swept the All-American titles since doubles were added in 1988: Stanford's Sandra Birch (1990) and San Diego's Zuzana Lesenarova (1999).
This is the first time Lehnhoff, who is a three-time ITA All-American, has advanced past the quarterfinals of a national singles tournament. She reached the quarterfinals of the 2000 NCAA Championships. Last season, Lehnhoff captured the NCAA doubles title last season with now-graduated Whitney Laiho. That was Lehnhoff's first collegiate grand slam title.
The last time the Gators sent athletes to compete in the Riviera All-American was in 1995, when UF senior Jill Craybas captured the singles title. Craybas also was the last Gator to win a grand slam singles title, capturing the 1996 NCAA Championship.
Florida athletes have now won a combined total of 30 individual grand slam women's tennis titles. During the illustrious history of the Florida women's tennis program, Lehnhoff becomes the first Gator ever to capture both the singles and the doubles titles in the same grand slam event. In fact before Sunday only Nicole Arendt (1988-91) produced an individual singles and doubles grand slam title during her career, but those championships were not won during the same year.
Lehnhoff did not lose a set during the five-match run against the nation's top collegiate players, including Friday's 6-1, 4-0 victory over No. 1-ranked Bea Bielik from Wake Forest. Lehnhoff, who was the No. 6 seed this week, improves to 9-0 this season. Cahana, the No. 4 seed, falls to 9-1.
The Riviera Women's All-American Championships is the first of three national collegiate tennis championships during the 2001-02 season. The All-American, the Nov. 8-11 Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, and the year-end NCAA Championships are college tennis' three national championship events for singles and doubles during the season for Division I men and women. Today's champions earned automatic spots into the Omni Hotels National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships next month in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Riviera All-American Championships
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Women's Singles - Final
(6) Jessica Lehnhoff, Florida d. (4) Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion, 6-2, 6-0
Women's Doubles - Final
Lindsay Dawaf/Jessica Lehnhoff, Florida d. Linda Faltynova/Katarzyna Kolodynska, Oklahoma State 8-4
END OF REPORT
