Stanford Stanford (May 14, 2003)chances are sweet

Men, women advance to third round after sweeping their openers

by Rick Eymer

Since 1973, every senior member of the Stanford men's tennis team has walked away from graduation with at least one NCAA championship.

Current seniors David Martin and Scott Lipsky would like to make it two.

After dispatching Oral Roberts, 2-0, on Saturday, and Fresno State, 4-0 on Sunday, in the first two rounds of the NCAA team tournament at Taube Tennis Center, the fourth-ranked Cardinal (23-3) remain on track.

Stanford plays 15th-ranked Tulane on Saturday in Athens, Ga., in third-round action. The Green Wave beat South Alabama, 4-1, and advanced to the third round for the first time since regional play began in 1977. Stanford and Tulane have never played in the postseason.

"We are still here," said Stanford coach Dick Gould. "We still have room for improvement, but we have some time. We have not played dual matches in awhile, but I felt we were in control. We competed well and I feel we can play better. We did not feel good about last year, so we are going to take this momentum to Georgia."

Stanford is looking for its first team title since 2000. The Cardinal have never gone more than two years without a title since winning their first one in 1973.

Meanwhile, the Stanford women's tennis team is the two-time defending national champion, and also remain on track toward a possible third straight title after beating Louisiana-Monroe, 4-0, in the first round on Friday, and Michigan, 4-0, in the second round on Saturday at Taube Tennis Center.

The top-ranked Cardinal (22-1) have reached the semifinals in each of the previous 18 seasons, and will need a victory over No. 17 Harvard on Thursday to extend that streak.

Stanford has beaten Harvard twice before in the NCAA tournament - in the first round in 1985, and again in the first round in 1986.

"I like where we're at right now," said Stanford coach Lele Forood. "Our top singles players are really on their games."

The Stanford men, upset in the second round last year, have won 18 of their last 19 matches.

Against Fresno State, the doubles teams of Carter Morris and Sam Warburg and KC Corkery and Menlo School grad James Pade paved the way for the shutout by earning the first point.

"The doubles teams made some big plays," said Gould. "The third team has really come along and they are playing well."

Warburg gave the Cardinal a 2-0 lead at No. 4 singles, and Corkery's singles win made it 3-0. Martin, ranked eighth in the nation, clinched the victory at No. 1.

Corkery clinched the win over Oral Roberts with a victory at No. 3.

Stanford is 83-9 in the postseason since the NCAA tournament went to its present format in 1977.

The Cardinal women, who have won 14 straight NCAA matches, captured the doubles point against the Wolverines with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Junior Emilia Anderson and sophomore Story Tweedie-Yates posted an 8-4 win over senior Joanne Musgrove and junior Kimberly Plaushines at No. 3, and freshmen Alice Barnes and Amber Liu clinched the point with an 8-1 victory over junior Christine Nolan and freshman Debra Streifler at No. 2.

Tweedie-Yates gave the Cardinal a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Streifler at No. 6, and sophomore Erin Burdette moved the hosts one point away from the victory with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over sophomore Leanne Rutherford at No. 3.

Liu, ranked fourth in the nation, clinched the victory with a 6-1, 6-0 win over 106th-ranked Michelle Da Costa at No. 1.

Against Louisiana-Monroe, Stanford improved to 22-0 in its opening round NCAA matches, and 77-10 overall since the tournament's inception in 1982.

Junior Lauren Barnikow and Burdette, the top-ranked doubles team, recorded an 8-4 win at No. 1, while Anderson and Tweedie-Yates nailed down the doubles point with an 8-4 victory at No. 3.

Burdette, Tweedie-Yates and Liu were the fastest winners in singles play, clinching the victory.