Miami Falls to Stanford in NCAA Championship Final
May 23, 2006
STANFORD, Calif. – The seventh seeded Miami women’s tennis team ended its impressive run at the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 loss to two-time defending champion and top seeded Stanford in the championship final Tuesday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center.
Miami (24-7) was competing in its second-ever NCAA Final and first since the 1985 season. The Hurricanes are also only the second Atlantic Coast Conference team, joining Duke’s 1998 squad, to compete in the NCAA final. Stanford (30-0) claimed its third consecutive NCAA team title and extended its win streak to 86-matches. The Cardinal is also on a 107-home court win streak and has won 18-straight NCAA post-season matches.
“I was just real happy with the way our girls came out today and fought,” said head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews “Stanford is a veteran team in this situation. In their home facility, it’s tough to come in here and try to dictate momentum. I think Stanford played a great match. In doubles we definitely had our chances. Maybe the moment got to us a little bit but I want to congratulate Stanford on an exceptional match and my team as well.”
The match was originally slated for Monday at 6:30 p.m. PT but was pushed back on Sunday after a full day of rain postponed the two semifinal matches.
Competing for the first time since 1989, the two teams opened the match battling for the doubles point. After falling at the No. 2 slot, all eyes turned to courts No. 1 and No. 3 were both matches were still undecided. At the No. 1 slot, Miami’s second-ranked duo of Melissa Applebaum and Audra Cohen had a 7-3 edge over Stanford’s top-ranked Alice Barnes/Anne Yelsey pair. While court No. 3 was knotted up a 6-all, the Cardinal rallied at the No. 1 position winning six consecutive games to claim a 9-7 win and capture the doubles point. Miami’s Cohen/Applebaum pair suffered only its second loss of the season and first to a ranked opponent (15-1).
The Cardinal took a 2-0 match lead when 34th ranked Celia Durkin claimed a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Miami sophomore Patricia Starzyk at the No. 5 position.
Not long after, Jessica Nguyen defeated sophomore Caren Seenauth 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 6 slot to put Stanford up 3-0.
Miami got on the board when Cohen, ranked second nationally, topped ITA Senior Player of Year and two-time NCAA singles champion Amber Liu, who is ranked eighth nationally, in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 1 position.
The Hurricanes could not hold off the Cardinal for much longer, however, as 10th ranked Theresa Logar sealed the victory with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Miami’s 107th ranked Monika Dancevic at the No. 3 slot. Dancevic, Miami’s lone freshman, came up big for the Hurricanes during the tournament as she clinched both Miami’s quarterfinal and semifinal upsets.
Starzyk and Cohen were both named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Starzyk went 2-1 from the No. 5 singles position. Cohen was 3-0 at the No. 1 position during the week.
Miami’s first NCAA Championship final appearance was in 1985 where the Hurricanes fell to USC, 6-3. The Hurricanes made their 11th-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. In its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance, Miami is 24-21 all-time.
The Hurricanes had been on a tear since the onset of the NCAA Championships. After winning the Coral Gables Regional with 4-0 wins against Boston University and Florida International, Miami reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 with a 4-1 victory over 23rd ranked Fresno State in the Round of 16. Miami garnered its first upset of the weekend by defeating No. 2 seed Notre Dame, 4-0 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinal for the first time since 1986. The Hurricanes then topped third-seeded USC, 4-1, to advance to the NCAA final.
Cohen and Applebaum will now concentrate on the NCAA Individual Championships which begin with the singles Round of 64 Wednesday starting at 10:00 a.m. PT. Cohen, the No. 1 overall seed, will square-off against Long Beach State’s Hannah Gray at 5:00 p.m. PT.
As a freshman at Northwestern, Cohen reached the NCAA Championship final as the No. 3 seed where she fell to Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. She also reached the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship.
2006 NCAA All-Tournament Team
No. 1 Singles – Audra Cohen, Miami
No. 2 Singles – Alice Barnes, Stanford
No. 3 Singles – Theresa Logar, Stanford
No. 4 Singles – Boglarka Berecz, Florida
No. 5 Singles – Patricia Starzyk, Miami
No. 6 Singles – Celia Durkin, Stanford
No. 1 Doubles – Alice Barnes & Anne Yelsey, Stanford
No. 2 Doubles – Feriel Esseghir & Georgia Rose, Northwestern
No. 3 Doubles – Lejla Hodzic & Jessica Nguyen, Stanford
Most Outstanding Performer – Alice Barnes, Stanford
