Hurricanes Down Tulane, 4-1 to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals
May 20, 2004
ATHENS, Ga.–Junior Staci Stevens (Hammond, La.) clinched the win as the No. 23 University of Miami women’s tennis team knocked off No. 11 Tulane 4-1 in the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga. Thursday afternoon.
Miami will face No. 9-seed UCLA Friday at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinals. UCLA beat No. 8-seed USC 4-2. UM suffered a tough, 4-3, loss to UCLA in Los Angeles earlier this season.
The last time Miami advanced to the quarterfinals was during the 1986 season. The Hurricanes beat California 5-3.
With the win Miami improves to 20-3 overall, the first 20-win season for the Hurricanes since the 1999 season (20-10). Tulane playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament Round of 16 match seeded 16th in the tournament, ends its season at 27-2.
Miami jumped out with an early 1-0 lead thanks to wins on courts one and three in doubles.
Miami is undefeated when winning the doubles point at 19-0 on the season.
No. 30 Melissa Applebaum (Coral Gables, Fla.) and Megan Bradley (Columbia, Mo.) posted an 8-4 win over the Tulane team of Darya Ivanov and Julie Smekodub on at the No. 1 spot. Tulane answered with a win on court two when Nancy Kockott and Dorottya Magas, ranked 45th, recorded an 8-5 win over Sara Robbins (Tuscon, Ariz.) and Stevens. Court three was left to decide the doubles point and the Miami team of freshman Audrey Banada (North Miami Beach, Fla.) and senior Mari Toro (Miami, Fla.) came through holding off Maria Ivanov and Jenny Kuhn 9-8.
The Hurricanes added to their lead, claiming a 2-0 advantage when No. 4 Megan Bradley blew past No. 81 Maria Ivanov 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot.
Kockott got Tulane on the board with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Robbins at No. 6 singles, cutting Miami’s lead to 2-1.
Banada put the Hurricanes up 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Magas at No. 5 singles. Stevens closed out the match with a 7-5, 6-3 upset victory over No. 91 Darya Ivanov at the No. 4 singles spot.
Banada (21-1) and Bradley (22-1) have both only loss one dual match this season. Banada is on a seven-match winning streak since falling in three sets at Notre Dame, while Bradley is on an 18-match win streak since falling in three sets at Harvard on Feb. 26. Banada has won 20 matches this season in straight sets, while Bradley has won 18 straight set matches.
No. 23 Miami 4, No. 11 Tulane 1
NCAA Round of 16 – Athens, Ga.
May 20, 2004
Doubles
1) #30 Applebaum/Bradley (UM) def. D. Ivanov/Smekodub (TU), 8-4
2) #45 Kockott/Magas (TU) def. Robbins/Stevens (UM), 8-5
3) Banada/Toro (UM) def. M. Ivanov/Kuhn (TU), 9-8 (7-3)
Singles
1) #4 Megan Bradley (UM) def. #81 Maria Ivanov (TU), 6-2, 6-2
2) Melissa Applebaum (UM) vs. #99 Jenny Kuhn (TU) 6-3, 5-7 DNF UM won the first set
3) Mari Toro (UM) vs. #58 Julie Smekodub (TU) 6-3, 5-5 DNF TU won the first set
4) Staci Stevens (UM) def. #91 Darya Ivanov (TU), 7-5, 6-3
5) Audrey Banada (UM) def. Dorottya Magas (TU), 6-4, 6-1
6) Nancy Kockott (TU) def. Sara Robbins (UM), 6-2, 6-1
