May 11, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Taking a shot at making history

by Rick Eymer

Amber Liu bounces up the steps at Taube Tennis Center apologizing profusely for being a few minutes late to an interview. She wanted to make sure she turned in school work before tennis practice.

When it comes to tennis, Liu needs no apologies. The seventh-ranked Stanford junior has designs on making history after winning the NCAA singles title her first two years.

Liu has a heavy postseason schedule. She'll try to help unbeaten and top-ranked Stanford (21-0) win its second straight national team title - and the fourth in coach Lele Forood's fifth season - and then try to defend her singles title in addition playing in the doubles tournament with sophomore Anne Yelsey.

She doesn't want it any other way.

"This is where we all come together and feel a bond with each other," Liu said. "We're trying to win not just for ourselves but for each other. There's a bigger cause and we all look forward to it. Every year seems to go by quicker."

Stanford, on a 50-match winning streak and an 83-match home winning streak, open the NCAA tournament with a home match against Army on Friday at 2 p.m.

Liu and Stanford are also hoping to put together back-to-back undefeated seasons for the first time since 1989-90. The Cardinal go into the NCAA tournament with seven players ranked among the top 61, six among the top 49. All 10 players on the roster have a .500 record or better.

Stanford has seven players entered in the singles tournament, the first school to ever have that many qualify. Liu and the 61st-ranked Yelsey will be joined by No. 20 Alice Barnes, No. 25 Erin Burdette, No. 32 Theresa Logar, No. 36 Whitney Deason, and No. 49 Lejla Hodzic, a Pinewood School grad.

"Our practices are actually noncompetitive," Liu said. "The lineup has been pretty in place all year. That helps because no one is looking to move up the ladder. At this point we have to be careful not to take anything for granted. We're used to winning but the team captains (Barnes and Burdette) have made a point to remind us not to overlook anyone."

Forood (132-3 in her tenure) was recently named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, while Liu and Barnes were first team all-conference selections and Burdette and Logar were named to the second team.

Barnes was also named the Northwest Region Arthur Ashe Award winner for leadership and scholarship. Frankie Brennan earned the region's Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

There's so much success at Stanford, when a player leaves early for the pro circuit, there always seems to be someone waiting in the wings.

Liu surprised a lot by returning to Stanford for a third year, and she hasn't ruled out coming back to finish her senior year either. That decision is furthest from her mind at the moment. What she knows for certain is that she will graduate, whether it's next year or some time in the future.

Liu missed much of the social life associated with being in high school, and she's making sure to participate in college life to the fullest.

"I missed my homecomings; I missed my proms but I have also traveled to so many different continents. I've been asked if I wish I had more of a childhood. I'm getting all that in college. Maybe that's another reason I came back. I knew I was not mentally ready to compete on the tour full-time last year."

Liu has more experience than your average (is that word ever muttered on the Stanford campus?) college junior. She took a year off after high school to play on the tour, and has spent her summers on the road. She's played in the U.S. Open three times, twice as NCAA champion and once after winning the 18-under junior national title.

She has played Kim Clijsters when the Belgian was the world's top-ranked player, and she has played other top players in places like Japan, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Costa Rica. Why would she even consider coming back regardless of how she performs in the NCAA tournament?

The answer is both simple and complex. Liu knows she will be playing tennis for a living soon. College doesn't last forever, and school is important for the Liu family. Both of her parents (Marvin and Valerie) are Stanford grads and she's committed to earning a degree.

Liu also understands the grind of the pro tour. The perks - a free digital camera, a CD player, having things done for you on the WTA tour - are an attraction. Looking up in the player's lounge and seeing her childhood idols Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, and Steffi Graf. Clijsters made a point to talk to Liu before they took the court in New York.

"You're always next to top players," Liu said. "You want to introduce yourself but you also know they have their own routines and you watch them to see what they are doing. I respect (Clijsters) for being such a good person."

Liu is also aware of the pitfalls of the tour - the long idle hours spent staring at the walls in a hotel room, or staring blankly at a television set.

"I understand the mentality; the lifestyle," Liu said. "There are a lot of different aspects you don't see. The one experience that does help from playing on the tour: no matter who I play it doesn't matter. I'm not intimidated. There's not much difference between the top 50 players and the next 500. They can all hit, they can move and they're smart people who want to win. The biggest difference is that players in the top 50 have confidence in themselves. I have been in college matches where my opponent is a better player than I've played against on the tour. But the tour player will win more often because of that belief in herself."

One of the first tournaments Liu ever played was in Gunma Prefecture, about an hour (via bullet train) northwest of Tokyo. The area is known for its natural hot springs and resorts.

"There weren't to many options," Liu said. "It was a resort in the woods, miles from anything. If you didn't get a room in the resort you had to stay in a youth hostel. I slept on the floor and eating was an adventure. There were trees and not much else; no TV, no movies. There was a phone line but no one spoke English. I felt so out of place there."

The highlight of that tournament was reaching the semifinals before losing to a then-unknown 14-year-old Russian girl by the name of Maria Sharapova.

For now Liu will be satisfied if she can take part in a dog pile sometime on May 28 in Athens, Ga. That would mean Stanford won an NCAA title.

"Everybody talks about the dog pile when you win," Liu said. "Some teams do it in their conference tournaments. We reserve ours for the NCAAs. It's something we look forward to doing."

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