Liu reaches NCAA semis in tennis Liu reaches NCAA semis in tennis (May 28, 2004)

Cardinal softball suffers first-round loss to UCLA in College World Series

by Rick Eymer

Stanford sophomore Amber Liu reached the semifinals of the 2004 NCAA women's tennis singles championship at the University of Georgia with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Vanderbilt's Audra Falk on Thursday.

"We played each other in the team event, and I feel like that really helped us know each others' game a little better," Liu said. "I think I played a lot better today than I did in the team event. We've both played about the same amount of tennis so we had the same amount of fatigue. I'm just trying to make that last push to finish the year strong."

Liu, the defending NCAA singles champion and seeded No. 2 in this year's tournament, eliminated Sacramento State's Margarita Karnaukhova, 6-3, 6-0, in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.

Cardinal sophomore Alice Barnes fell to Fresno State's third-seeded Jelena Pandzic, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 16 and was eliminated from the tournament.

On Tuesday, Liu downed 17th-ranked Dea Sumantri of Washington, 6-2, 6-4, in the Round of 32. The No. 10-ranked Barnes defeated Karin Coetzee of Wake Forest, 6-1, 6-3.

Stanford freshman Theresa Logar was beaten by Falk, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5). Logar completed her initial collegiate season with a 38-4 overall singles record, including a 27-0 record in dual matches.

The top-ranked Stanford duo of Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette were upset in doubles action Tuesday. The William & Mary team of Megan Muth and Amy Wei eliminated Barnikow and Burdette, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2, in the first round.

In related news, Former Stanford great Patty (Fendick) McCain, a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA singles champion on The Farm between 1984-87, was named the ITA National Coach of the Year after leasing Washington into the NCAA quarterfinals and the school's highest ever ranking at No. 4.
Softball

Leah Nelson hit a home run, but UCLA scored six times in the bottom of the fourth en route to an 8-2 victory over the Cardinal in the first game of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Nelson gave Stanford (47-18) a 2-1 lead with her sixth homer of the season, but the Bruins responded by sending 11 batters to the plate in their half. Caitlin Benyi's three-run homer was the big blow against Laura Severson, who suffered the loss after replacing senior pitcher Dana Sorensen in the third.

Senior catcher Jessica Allister also drove in a run for Stanford, who will meet Michigan in a losers bracket game of the double elimination tournament on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. (ESPN).

In other news, Sorensen was named to the first team Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-American team. Allister and sophomore shortstop Lauren Lappin were named to the second team.

Sorensen and Katherine Hoffman were named Pac-10 first team all-Academic, while Elizabeth Bendig, Catalina Morris, Heather Shook and Meghan Sickler were all named to the second team.
Baseball

Stanford senior Jonny Ash was named Pac-10 Player of the Week after helping the Cardinal take two-of-three games against USC to move back into sole possession of first-place in the conference.

Ash was 6-for-13 (.462) with two doubles, a triple, four RBI, four runs scored, one walk and one hit by pitch to go with a .769 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage in the series. He played a huge role in Stanford's 8-2 victory in Sunday's rubber game of the series, going 3-for-4 with a triple and a career-high-tying four RBI.

Ash will try to help Stanford clinch the Pac-10 title this weekend when its hosts No. 19 Arizona State beginning with today's 6 p.m. game. The series continues with 1 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday. Stanford need to win twice to earn second consecutive outright Pac-10 title.
Men's tennis

Warburg was named the ITA National Player to Watch at its annual awards ceremony and Hall of Fame induction on Wednesday in Tulsa.

Warburg was tabbed as a player to watch after recording a 21-3 record against ranked opponents to raise his own ranking to No. 8 from No. 71.
Women's water polo

Senior Wendy Watkins earned first team All-American honors after helping the Cardinal reach the NCAA Final Four with a team-high 28 goals.

Junior Hannah Luber, who shared the team lead with 28 goals, was named second team All-American, and freshman Christina Hewko was accorded honorable mention honors.

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