Florida Gators
Stanford (NCAA Semifinals)
Women?s Tennis Falls to No. 1 Stanford, 4-0, in NCAA Semifinals
Monday, May 22, 2006 | Women's Tennis
Stanford continued its dominance and showed why the Cardinal are the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded team in the country, breezing past No. 4 Florida, 4-0, in the semifinals of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships Monday afternoon.
Stanford, the two-time defending national champion, finally got the rematch it had been seeking since losing 4-3 to the Gators in the 2003 NCAA final, the last time the Cardinal lost. In a one-day rain-delayed semifinal, Stanford sprinted past Florida to win the doubles point in 40 minutes en route to extending its NCAA-record win streak to 85, including a daunting 106 home winning streak at the Taube Tennis Center.
“We got blitzed, no question about it,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “Stanford was just too good today, they didn't even give us a chance to get in the match. I felt that the first 15 minutes of doubles really set the tone. When you play a big, strong team like Stanford and you don't have your best stuff in this setting, in this arena, in front of this crowd with 'Gator Hater' signs, it's going to be an uphill battle. You have to give them all the credit in the world. I'm proud of my team because I thought we fought, but we were a little short today. They were a lot better today than we were.”
The Gators end their season with a 25-2 overall record, having their 19-match win streak ended on Monday. The Cardinal (29-0) play No. 7 Miami for the national championship on Tuesday. The Hurricanes upset No. 3 Southern California, 4-1, to reach the NCAA final for the second time in program history and for the first time since 1985.
In doubles, UF's No. 3 pair of Keri Robison and Nina Suvak fell to Lejla Hodzic and Jessica Nguyen, 8-2, shortly before the No. 2 tandem of Lolita Frangulyan and Diana Srebrovic were dominated by Stanford's 22nd-ranked Celia Durkin and Amber Liu, 8-0, marking the first time any Gator doubles team had been shutout this season. UF's team of Whitney Benik and Alexis Gordon, continued to battle on court No. 1, where they were down one break, receiving at 6-4 to top-ranked Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey when play was halted.
Stanford didn't let up at all on the singles courts, racing out to win the first set on all six courts, where every Cardinal was ranked in the top 52 in the country, with four players ranked among the nation's top 11.
Alex Liles actually earned UF's first break of the day, taking a 2-0 lead on court No. 6 against 34th-ranked Celia Durkin, holding that edge until Durkin broke back in the fifth game. Durkin broke again in the seventh game before Liles battled back to earn a break of her own, but could not hold in the next game, as Durkin served out for the first set and bageled the Gator sophomore in the second set to take the 6-4, 6-0 decision and give Stanford a 2-0 lead.
Fifth-ranked Alice Barnes then defeated UF's ninth-ranked Diana Srebrovic 6-2, 6-3 to spot the Cardinal a 3-0 lead before 52nd-ranked Whitney Deason supplied the clinching decision with a 6-2, 6-3 mark against Nina Suvak on court No. 5 to end the Gator's season.
Florida continued to battle on the other courts, where Whitney Benik fought off three match points and was still receiving at duce, down 6-3, 5-4 when play was abandoned. Boglarka Berecz was serving for the second set, leading 11th-ranked Anne Yelsey 5-4 after dropping the first set 6-2. The showcase match on court No. 1 started heating up in the second set, as UF's 14th-ranked Alexis Gordon was serving with a 4-3 lead in the second after eighth-ranked Amber Liu took the opening set 6-0.
UF's Boglarka Berecz, Alexis Gordon and Diana Srebrovic remain in Stanford, Calif., to compete in the season-ending NCAA Individual Championships, as the trio earned berths into the NCAA Singles Championships, while the Gator tandem of Gordon and Whitney Benik tackle the doubles event. The singles round of 64 begins on Wednesday, May 24, while the 32-team doubles tournament begins Thursday, May 25 at the Taube Tennis Center.
NCAA Women's Tennis Championships
Team Semifinals
Taube Tennis Center
Stanford, Calif.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Complete Team Results – Semifinals
No. 1 Stanford def. No. 4 Florida, 4-0
No. 7 Miami def. No. 3 Southern California, 4-1
Individual UF Results
Final Score: Stanford 4, Florida 0
Doubles
No. 1 Alice Barnes/Anne Yelsey (1), SU led Whitney Benik/Alexis Gordon (24), UF 6-4
No. 2 Celia Durkin/Amber Liu (22), SU def. Lolita Frangulyan/Diana Srebrovic, UF 8-0*
No. 3 Lejla Hodzic/Jessica Nguyen, SU def. Keri Robison/Nina Suvak, UF 8-2
Singles
No. 1 Amber Liu (8), SU led Alexis Gordon (14), UF 6-0, 3-4 (UF serving, DNF)
No. 2 Alice Barnes (5), SU def. Diana Srebrovic (9), UF 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Theresa Logar (10), SU led Whitney Benik (112), UF 6-3, 5-4 (SU serving, DNF)
No. 4 Anne Yelsey (11), SU led Boglarka Berecz (50), UF 6-2, 4-5 (UF serving, DNF)
No. 5 Whitney Deason (52), SU def. Nina Suvak, UF 6-2, 6-3*
No. 6 Celia Durkin (34), SU def. Alex Liles, UF 6-4, 6-0
*clinched doubles point/dual match
Order of Finish: Doubles 3, 2; Singles 6, 2, 5
Match Notes:
*UF had its 19-match win streak snapped
*UF was making its 18 appearance in the NCAA semifinals in the last 20 years
*UF lost the doubles point for the sixth time this season
*The 8-0 loss by UF's No. 2 doubles team was the first time this year at Gator team had been swept
*UF falls to 10-8 all-time in NCAA Semifinal matches.
*Stanford earns its 85th consecutive victory and its 106th straight at home
*Alex Liles had her nine-match win streak snapped
*Stanford now holds a 14-11 edge in the series versus the Gators, including an 8-2 record in NCAA matches. The last meeting between UF and SU was a 4-3 Gator victory in the final of the 2003 NCAA Championships - the last time the Cardinal lost.
END OF REPORT
