Florida Gators
NCAA Singles & Doubles - Day 2
Two Gators Advance to NCAA W-Singles Third Round
Wednesday, May 22, 2002 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida's Jessica Lehnhoff and Lindsay Dawaf won their respective first and second round matches at the NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships Tuesday afternoon. Both advanced to the third round and will resume action on Wednesday beginning at 9 a.m. PT (12 Noon ET) at the Taube Family Tennis Center.
Dawaf and Lehnhoff also play their first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships beginning Wednesday at approximately 12 Noon PT (3 p.m. ET). The Gator duo received the No. 3 seeded and will face Alabama's Millie Begovic and Weyli Chang in the opening round. The winner of that match will play their second round later that same day.
In the singles draw, Lehnhoff, the No. 3 seed in the 64-player tournament, faces Pennsylvania's Alice Pirsu in the third round, while Dawaf takes on Stanford's Erin Burdette.
Dawaf posted one of the days most impressive upsets, topping fourth-seeded Nataly Cahana from Old Dominion 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round after defeating Duke's Julie DeRoo in the opening round 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Lehnhoff staged exciting come-from-behind rallies in both of her matches to advance. She trailed 5-1 and was receiving in the first set against Northwestern's Marine Piriou in the second round battle, but managed to win the first set and the match 7-5, 6-1. Lehnhoff's opening round was just as dramatic, as she trailed 4-0 to start the day, but fought back to defeat Oklahoma's Anda Perianu 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
"I don't know what happened. In both of my matches I really started slow," Lehnhoff said. "I'm a little bit fatigued right now and have to do a better job of starting in tomorrow's matches."
"The difference was that I stopped making stupid errors and started playing smart," Lehnhoff said about her second round comeback in the first set. "I know that I have to just take one match at a time, one point at a time. I need to do what I need to do for my body to get ready for another day of tennis tomorrow. I played a lot of tough three-set matches in the team competition, so I need to be smart tonight to be ready for tomorrow."
Against Cahana, Dawaf opened the match taking a quick 3-1 lead after a break in the third game, but Cahana broke back in the sixth game and then again in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead with the serve. She then closed out the first set and raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second. Dawaf fought back and got the match back on serve thanks to a break in the four game and again in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. Both players held serve and Dawaf was serving for the second set at 5-4, but Cahana broke to keep the set alive. However, Dawaf regrouped and broke back to force a deciding third set. Again Cahana jumped out early on Dawaf's serve and opened with a break, but Dawaf answered right back. The players then held, before trading service breaks. Dawaf held again to take a 4-3 lead in the final set. With Cahana serving, Dawaf missed on her first break point of the game when her short volley sailed wide. Cahana came back and had a game point, but couldn't convert and Dawaf made her pay by winning the final two points, capped by Cahana's forehand that hit the net, to take an important break in the eighth game. Dawaf then served out the match and came through with the upset victory.
"In the first set I was playing defensively and was going for shots that I probably shouldn't have. I wasn't closing the net on my volleys," Dawaf said. "In the second set, I started playing more aggressively and turned things around. (Cahana) was on the defensive most of the time and I hit more to her weakness, her backhand and came in on that and closed at the net."
In her first round battle, Lehnhoff trailed Oklahoma's Anda Perianu for what seemed to be the entire match before emerging with the 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. The temperature wasn't the only aspect of the courts that was chilly, as Lehnhoff, the No. 3-seed in the 64-player tournament, found herself quickly trailing 4-0. She broke back in the fifth game, then held before taking another of Perianu's serve at love to get within 4-3. But Lehnhoff lost her serve, as the final four games of the set were breaks of serve, as Perianu took the opening set. Lehnhoff then started to heat up, opening the second set with a 3-0 lead behind a pair of service breaks. The next four games of the second featured breaks, but Lehnhoff held on to her final serve to close out the set and force a deciding third set.
Perianu opened the third set holding and then broke Lehnhoff to take a quick 2-0 lead. Lehnhoff broke back, but lost her ensuing service game at love to trail 3-1. The gritty Gator then dug deep and lost just two points in the next two games to even the match at 3-all. Perianu held her serve in the seventh game to keep the pressure on, but Lehnhoff won a long game to stay on serve at 4-all. She then won four of the next five points to earn an extremely important break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 advantage with the serve. Lehnhoff jumped out to a 40-15 lead after winning an extremely long and well-play point by both competitors to serve at double-match point. But Lehnhoff double-faulted and Perianu then jumped on Lehnhoff's soft second serve to bring duce and then had a break point. But Lehnhoff continued to battle and won the final three points to escape with the victory and avoid the first-round upset.
"I kept telling myself that I couldn't go out in the first round, not in my senior year," Lehnhoff said. "It's all about wanting it and playing with heart. I had to reach down and really believed that I could win. Right now in this tournament, it's just about who wants it more. I played to the last day of the team tournament so that's a bit of a disadvantage in the individual tournament, but I have to gut it out. That's just the situation. I'm tired, but I need to stay strong and keep my head up and fight."
Dawaf's first round match against Duke's Julie DeRoo had significantly less drama, with the Gator earning a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory. Eight of the first 10 games were service breaks, as the athletes traded service games and eventually forced a tiebreaker. Dawaf jumped out and quickly won the first six points and eventually claimed the first set with a 7-3 score in the tiebreaker. She then cruised in the second set, winning it impressively 6-1 to advance to the second round for the second straight year.
"I was a little nervous in the first set because it was the first match of the tournament and it was close, but I finished strong in the tiebreak," Dawaf said.
NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships
Stanford, Calif.
Taube Family Tennis Center
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
UF Individual Results Only
First Round (seed)
(3) Jessica Lehnhoff, UF d. Anda Perianu, Oklahoma 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Lindsay Dawaf, UF d. Julie DeRoo, Duke 7-6 (3), 6-1
Second Round (seed)
(3) Jessica Lehnhoff, UF d. Marine Piriou, Northwestern 7-5, 6-1
Lindsay Dawaf, UF d. (4) Nataly Cahana, Old Dominion 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
END OF REPORT
