No. 8 Stanford Bounces No. 9 Clemson from Sweet 16

May 20, 2010

ATHENS, GA – The Eighth-seeded Stanford Cardinal knocked No. 9 Clemson out of postseason play by a 4-0 margin in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships in Athens, GA. The Cardinal (23-1) won a tight doubles point and roared out of the gate in singles, winning at flights two, three, and five on the way to the Elite Eight.

“That was a very aggressive team that beat us,” said Nancy Harris, who fell to 19-11 in her NCAA Tournament career. “We played very well in doubles, but they got out to California tennis in singles. They played big form the baseline and played very aggressively.”

Clemson (24-6) saw its season end in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. It was the second time in the last three years that the Cardinal knocked Clemson out of the tournament. Clemson fell to 0-10 all-time against Stanford, and 0-6 in NCAA Tournament play.

The two didn’t get underway until 7:40 pm, as earlier matches caused a backup in the scheduling. Doubles took more than an hour and a half to complete as the teams were forced to play at the Henry Field courts due to a light failure at the McWhorter Courts.

Stanford took the doubles point for the 23^rd time in 24 matches, winning at flights two and three. The 56^th-ranked group of Mallory Burdette and Stacey Tan defeated Laurianne Henry, 9-7.

The freshman group of Caroline Magnusson and Nelly Ciolkowski fell to McVeigh and Veronica Li, 8-6, as the Stanford group moved to 23-5 on the year.

Ina Hadziselimovic, ranked seventh nationally, played their second consecutive top-ten opponent in #2 Hilary Barte and Lindsay Burdette at the top doubles position. The Tigers battled back from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreak, and led 5-2 when the match was halted.

Both teams are national seeds in next week’s NCAA Doubles Championships, which start on Wednesday.

Clemson came out of the break a step slower than Stanford, as the Cardinal quickly took first sets but 6-1 margins at flights one, two, three, and five. Nelly Ciolkowski dropped a first-set tiebreaker.

Josipa Bek, ranked 17^th in singles, lost her first set to #4 Hilary Barte, 6-1, but came back for a 6-1 second-set win.

Laurianne Henry was the first to fall, as Carolyn McVeigh took her down, 6-1, 6-2. McVeigh and Henry also met in the 2008 tournament, with McVeigh emerging with the 6-4, 6-3 win that year.

Ina Hadziselimovic dropped her final collegiate singles match, 6-1, 6-4 to freshman Mallory Burdette, who is ranked 33^rd nationally. Hadziselimovic ends her career tenth on the all-time singles wins list with 88.

Lindsay Burdette avenged an earlier season loss to #79 Keri Wong to win 6-1, 6-3 to clinch the match for Stanford.

Estefania Balda, Ciolkowski, and Bek did not record decisions in the match.

#8 Stanford 4, #9 Clemson 0

May 20, 2010 – NCAA Round of 16

Doubles:

1. #7 Bek/Hadziselimovic (CU) v. #2 Barte/L. Burdette (STAN), 8-8(5-2), DNF

2. #56 M. Burdette/Tan (STAN) def. Keri Wong/Laurianne Henry (CU), 9-7

3. McVeigh/Li (STAN) def. Ciolkowski/Magnusson (CU), 8-6

Order of Finish: 2,3*

Singles:

1. #17 Josipa Bek (CU) v. #4 Hilary Barte (STAN), 1-6, 6-1, DNF

2. #83 Lindsay Burdette (STAN) def. #79 Keri Wong (CU), 6-1, 6-3