Publication Date: Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Stanford's Burdette has a dreamy finish
Stanford's Burdette has a dreamy finish
(June 01, 2005) Cardinal senior concludes career with NCAA doubles title
by Rick Eymer
Erin Burdette added an individual trophy to her collection on Sunday when the Stanford senior paired up with junior Alice Barnes to win the NCAA doubles championship in Athens, Ga.
Perhaps what made the individual title so special for Burdette, who won the clinching match in last week's team championship, was how she recovered from a shoulder injury that threatened to end her collegiate career prematurely earlier in the year.
"A month and a half ago I couldn't even lift my arm," Burdette said after she and Barnes beat teammates Amber Liu and Anne Yelsey, 6-3, 6-4, in the title match. "To be able to come back and play for this title was fantastic."
Stanford recorded its fifth doubles title, matching UCLA for most by any one school. The Cardinal have had 12 doubles teams play for the championship, twice it's been an all-Stanford final. Current Castilleja coach Meredith McGrath and Teri Whitlinger beat teammates Sandra Birch and Debbie Graham for the title in 1990.
Burdette and Barnes also became the fifth unseeded duo to win an NCAA title, joining Stanford's Elise Burgin and Linda Gates (1984) among others.
"Ever since Erin came back from her injury I think we just got better and better," Barnes said. "I just hoped that we would have enough time to get enough matches under our belt to compete here. A month ago I didn't even think we were going to be able to play in this tournament and we were both very disappointed."
Burdette and Barnes went three sets before beating TCU's tandem of Ana Cetnik and Story Tweedie-Yates, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in Saturday's semifinals.
Tweedie-Yates played at Stanford her first three years.
Liu and Yelsey advanced to the finals with an upset victory, 6-2, 6-2, over second-seeded Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier of Northwestern.
The two Stanford teams played each other for the first time.
"It was very awkward playing against teammates," Liu said. "We didn't go for all the shots we would go for normally. I think it had a big effect. I think this is a step in the right direction and we're excited about next year."
In College Station, Texas, Stanford's Sam Warburg and KC Corkery fell to LSU's Mark Growcott and Ken Skupski, 7-6 (1), 6-4, in the semifinals of the NCAA doubles tournament.
Warburg and Corkery finished the season with a 38-7 mark. They beat Arizona's Roger Matalonga and Colin O'Grady, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to reach the semifinals.
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