Select Page

Friday Super Regional Recap: Stanford & Pepperdine Fight off Tough Competition; Duke & UCLA Women Cruise; Baylor Men Too Strong for UCLA; Wake Rolls Over Oklahoma

by | May 11, 2019 | Blog

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

The first day of Super Regional play brought us a few good matches and a few shutouts but they all ended with the home team coming out on top. The two closest matches of the day took place on the West Coast with Stanford edging Big XII Champion Kansas 4-3 while Pepperdine fought off a scrappy UCF team 4-2. 

Stanford won its 20th straight match and advanced to the Elite 8 for the 10th year in a row but it was far from easy. The Cardinal found themselves in a 1-0 hole after Kansas won the doubles point for the 25th time in 26 matches with a 6-2 win at No. 2 and a 6-3 win at No. 3. 

Each team claimed three opening sets in singles with three of the matches finishing in straight sets while the other three went the distance. 

Stanford seniors Melissa Lord and Caroline Lampl gave the Cardinal the lead at 2-1 after Lord won 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2 singles while Lampl stayed perfect in dual-match play (21-0) with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 3. 

Kansas’s Maria Toran Ribes tied it at 2-2 with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles. Ribes’s opponent Niluka Madurawe was playing in just her fifth dual-match of the season with Stanford’s usual No. 6 Emma Higuchi out for unknown reason. 

Stanford would go back in front after Emily Arbuthnott completed her comeback with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles but Kansas’s Anastasia Rychagova knotted it up at 3-3 with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1. 

By the time Rychagova closed out Michaela Gordon at No. 1, Stanford’s Janice Shin was nearing the finish line in the decider at No. 5. Shin dropped the opening set 6-4 but she’d come back to take the final two sets 6-4, 6-2 to send the Cardinal to Lake Nona where they’ll meet No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday.

 

Kansas head coach Todd Chapman on the overall match:
“I thought we came out and played really well in doubles at No. 1 and 3 in really just playing our style of doubles as we have been doing all year. It was great to gain the early momentum as it allowed us to settle in a little bit.

“In singles, it was a battle an up and down, roller coaster-style match on both sides. There were leads shifting up and down on both sides with players fighting back. We played ourselves into great positions against arguably the best team against the country, the reigning National Champions. We just came up a little short in the end.

“That is the part that stings, and it is going to sting when you are this close. I am proud of our fight, I am proud of our effort, I am surely proud of this senior class and these young players we have on this team. I think people now know who Kansas tennis is, but it definitely does not take the sting away when you lose a tough, hard-fought battle. Credit to Stanford, I thought they played very tough tennis down the stretch and made us earn everything. At the end of the day, they came up with a few more shots than we did.”

On the season:
“Hopefully this is the new standard of Kansas tennis. That is what we have been fighting for, that is what our three seniors have been fighting for, is to set a new standard and new legacy of what Kansas tennis is going to be moving forward. Hopefully these young players realize that and know the expectations.

“It has been a great season, a season of accomplishing many things that have not been done in a long time. That is a credit to my staff and credit to these young ladies that gave everything they had. It is just one of those things that unless you win the National Championship, it is never easy because you are going to lose your last match. But I can tell you we went down fighting and we played hard, competed, and we were gritty and tough. We just came up a little short.”

#3 Stanford 4, #14 Kansas 3
May 10, 2019 at Stanford, Calif (Taube Family Tennis Stadium)
Doubles Competition
1) No. 6 Khmelnitckaia/Koch (KAN) d. No. 19 Lampl/Kimberly Yee (STAN) 6-2
2) No. 29 Arbuthnott/Gordon (STAN) d. No. 64 Rychagova/Smagina (KAN) 6-2
3) Malkia Ngounoue/Toran Ribes (KAN) d. No. 57 Lord/Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 6-3
Singles Competition
1) No. 13 Anastasia Rychagova (KAN) d. No. 24 Michaela Gordon (STAN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2) No. 29 Melissa Lord (STAN) d. No. 112 Janet Koch (KAN) 6-2, 7-5
3) No. 66 Caroline Lampl (STAN) d. Plobrung Plipuech (KAN) 6-3, 6-3
4) No. 44 Emily Arbuthnott (STAN) d. Sonia Smagina (KAN) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
5) No. 108 Janice Shin (STAN) d. Nina Khmelnitckaia (KAN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
6) Maria Toran Ribes (KAN) d. Niluka Madurawe (STAN) 7-5, 6-4
Match Notes
Stanford 25-1; National ranking #3
Kansas 21-5; National ranking #14
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,6,4,1,5)

 

Pepperdine advanced to the Elite 8 for the third time in the last four years with a come from behind 4-2 win over a tough No. 23 UCF. The Knights took the early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then in singles they got off to a quick start after taking break leads on four of six courts. However Pepperdine would fight back with Adrijana Lekaj and Dzina Milovanovic coming back from 2-4 and 2-5 down respectively to take the first sets at No. 2 and No. 4 by an identical 7-5 score. 

Natalia Serrano put UCF ahead 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 5 but Pepperdine would put the hammer down everywhere else and start closing out courts one-by-one.

Dzina Milovanovic put the Waves on the board with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 4 and Jessica Failla made it 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 3. 

Adrijana Lekaj put the Waves a point away with a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 2 and Ashley Lahey brought the victory home with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 1. 

Pepperdine will now meet No. 3 Stanford on Friday in Lake Nona. 

We played a heck of a doubles point today. We looked incredible from the start, said UCF head coach Bryan Koniecko, Nat and Domenika looked incredible and played an incredible match. Going into singles, we were there. I thought we were about two or three points on a couple of courts from having that match roll our way. The match was there for the taking, I hope its a learning experience going forward.

Its tough to think too far into next season, but obviously this season Im most proud of is how far weve come, said Konieckco, Weve come a long way since January. With adding two starters in January, the camaraderie needed time to grow. We didnt have the best weekend at ITA National Indoors, but the most impressive thing was our group coming together and making it a point to want to get this team to this level. Theyre conference champions, sweet 16 participants and were minutes away from reaching the elite eight. I dont think a lot of people in the country would have thought that.

#6 Pepperdine 4, #23 UCF 2
May 10, 2019 at Malibu, Calif. (Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #37 Lahey, Ashley (PEPPW) def. #40 Valeryia Zeleva (UCF) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. #102 Lekaj, Adrijana (PEPPW) def. #82 Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF) 7-5, 6-1
3. #53 Failla, Jessica (PEPPW) def. Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) 6-3, 6-4
4. Milovanovic, Dzina (PEPPW) def. Marie Mattel (UCF) 7-5, 6-2
5. Natalia Serrano (UCF) def. Kuczer, Daria (PEPPW) 6-3, 6-2
6. Iamachkine,Anastasia (PEPPW) vs. Nandini Sharma (UCF) 6-1, 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. #41 Failla, Jessica/Iamachkine,Anastasia (PEPPW) def. #26 Valeryia Zeleva/Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF) 6-2
2. Rebeka Stolmar/Marie Mattel (UCF) def. #83 Kuczer, Daria/Lahey, Ashley (PEPPW) 7-5
3. Domenika Turkovic/Natalia Serrano (UCF) def. Lekaj, Adrijana/Milovanovic, Dzina (PEPPW) 6-0
Match Notes:
UCF 24-3; National ranking #23
Pepperdine University 23-3; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,5,3,2,1)

 

 

Baylor advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time in four years after knocking off No. 11 UCLA 4-1. The Bears stayed perfect at home (16-0) and did it with good play in doubles and a strong effort in singles. The Bears took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 while the match at No. 1 doubles between the ITA’s top two ranked teams went unfinished with UCLA’s Cressy/Smith having four match points up 5-4. 

Baylor took five first sets in singles and both Adrian Boitan and Sven Lah would win in straight sets at No. 3 and No. 5 to make it 3-0.

UCLA’s Maxime Cressy won in straight sets at No. 1 to put the Bruins on the board and Keegan Smith was just a game away from a win at No. 2 but Baylor’s Jimmy Bendeck would close it out at No. 6 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win. 

Next up for BU is a Thursday quarterfinal match in Lake Nona against the winner of today’s match between Florida and Tennessee.

Jerry Hill had a great recap on Baylor’s site with more quotes – down below were their top quotes

TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win
“College tennis is special, and to be able to host a Super Regional against a historic program as UCLA on a Friday night I’m really appreciative of the Waco community and everyone at Baylor University that came out and supported us: fellow coaches, athletes on other teams and so on. It was an incredible atmosphere and I’m really happy for the players. This is what you play for and they responded, and we get to advance and move on to the Elite Eight so we’re excited.”

TOP QUOTE #2
Senior Jimmy Bendeck
On the doubles point
“That’s a huge thing. Honestly, I think we have the best doubles lineup in the country and not everyone has a good day. We didn’t have that great of a day at 1, but obviously the guys at 3 were holding it down. They do an unbelievable job of being super disciplined in the way they play and No. 2 is always there. They are two of the most trustworthy guys on the team and that’s all part of. Sometimes you have to lean on the other two guys, and sometimes they got to lean on us. That’s why we’re a team.”

TOP QUOTE #3
Senior Jimmy Bendeck
On his last match in Waco
“That’s kind of the motto of the day for me and for the rest of the team is to enjoy the moment. We had a lot of fans. A lot of friends came for me and sat on my court, and it’s just special. I only got one more (home match), and it’s over now and I’m really thankful for everything that’s happened. Just grateful that I got the opportunity.”

#6 Baylor 4, #11 UCLA 1
5/10/2019 at Waco, Texas (Hurd Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #18 Maxime Cressy (UCLA) def. #20 Johannes Schretter (BU) 6-4, 6-1
2. #36 Keegan Smith (UCLA) vs. #25 Matias Soto (BU) 3-6, 6-4, *5-1, unfinished
3. #112 Adrian Boitan (BU) def. #68 Govind Nanda (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
4. #78 Will Little (BU) vs. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-2, 6-6 (4-3*), unfinished
5. #76 Sven Lah (BU) def. Ben Goldberg (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
6. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Roscoe Bellamy (UCLA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #2 Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith (UCLA) vs. #1 Jimmy Bendeck/Sven Lah (BU) *5-4 (40/0), unfinished
2. Will Little/Matias Soto (BU) def. Govind Nanda/Connor Rapp (UCLA) 6-4
3. Johannes Schretter/Constantin Frantzen (BU) def. Bryce Pereira/Patrick Zahraj (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes:
UCLA 19-5; National ranking #11
Baylor 24-5; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,1,6)
2019 NCAA Championships – Super Regional
A-1029

 

Wake Forest advanced to the Elite 8 for the third year with a 4-1 win over No. 21 Oklahoma. The Sooners jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point with 6-3 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 but the Deacs came back in singles with first five sets.

Sid Banthia tied it up with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 and Petros Chrysochos put the Deacs in front with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2. Rrezart Cungu made it 3-1 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 and Melios Efstathiou clinched at No. 5 with a 6-4, 6-2 win.

Next up for Wake Forest will be a Friday matchup in Lake Nona against the winner of the Virginia/Stanford match. 

Our goal was to always play our best tennis at the end of the season and I thought we did that, said OU head coach Nick Crowell. We made a good run and the guys really came together as a team and continued to establish our program as one of the top in the country.

I just want to say thank you to my three seniors, Spencer (Papa), Alex (Bakshi) and Ferran (Calvo). Theyve been amazing in their careers here and Sooner nation should be proud of those guys.

#3 [4] Wake Forest 4, #21 Oklahoma 1
5/10/2019 at Winston-Salem, N.C. (WF Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #11 Borna Gojo (WF) vs. #32 Spencer Papa (OU) 7-6 (3), *5-2 (40/15), unfinished
2. #8 Petros Chrysochos (WF) def. #41 Alex Bakshi (OU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #77 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) vs. #50 Bar Botzer (WF) 7-6 (5), 2-2* (15/30), unfinished
4. Rrezart Cungu (WF) def. Ferran Calvo (OU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Melios Efstathiou (WF) def. Mason Beiler (OU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. #55 Bar Botzer/Petros Chrysochos (WF) vs. #25 Alex Bakshi/Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU) *5-2 (40/30), unfinished
2. Jake Van Emburgh/Ferran Calvo (OU) def. Borna Gojo/Julian Zlobinsky (WF) 6-3
3. Spencer Papa/Max Stewart (OU) def. Siddhant Banthia/Melios Efstathiou (WF) 6-3
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 17-11; National ranking #21
Wake Forest 32-3; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,2,4,5)

 

Duke defeated ACC-rival No. 12 NC State for the second time this season with a fairly routine 4-0 win. The fifth-seeded Blue Devils won the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then after taking five first sets in singles they’d get straight set wins from Meible Chi, Kelly Chen, and Kaitlyn McCarthy at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4. 

Next up for Duke will be a Friday matchup in Lake Nona against the winner of the South Carolina/USC match.  

This win feels great, head coach Jamie Ashworth said. First of all, we had a great atmosphere and a great crowd supporting both Duke and NC State. NC State had an unbelievable year. I thought we were relentless from the start. We used the momentum from the doubles and rode with it to play really well, really smart and really disciplined tennis. Were excited. This is something we set out to do at the beginning of the year. Were very proud of our team and we should be happy with the effort tonight.

#5 Duke 4, #12 NC State 0
May 10, 2019 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #11 Maria Mateas (DU) vs. #10 Anna Rogers (ST) 6-7 (2-7), 1-0, unfinished
2. #33 Meible Chi (DU) def. #71 Alana Smith (ST) 6-2, 6-2
3. #21 Kelly Chen (DU) def. Adriana Reami (ST) 6-3, 6-4
4. Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Liz Norman (ST) 6-3, 6-3
5. Ellyse Hamlin (DU) vs. Bianca Moldovan (ST) 6-4, 5-2, unfinished
6. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) vs. Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #7 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (ST) def. #47 Kelly Chen/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) 6-2
2. #24 Meible Chi/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Adriana Reami/Claudia Wiktorin (ST) 6-3
3. Maria Mateas/Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. Bianca Moldovan/Liz Norman (ST) 6-4
Match Notes:
NC State 24-7; National ranking #12
Duke 26-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,3)

 

UCLA advanced to the Elite 8 for the second year in a row and seventh time in the last nine years with a 4-0 shutout over Pac-12 rival No. 10 Washington. The Bruins defeated the Huskies for the third time in the past 30 days with this match pretty one sided. 

UCLA won the doubles point with a 6-3 win at No. 2 and a 6-2 win at No. 3 and then added five opening sets in singles.

Gabby Andrews made it 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6 and Jada Hart made it 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1. Sophomore Abi Altick clinched at No. 5 with a 6-2, 7-5 win while Elysia Bolton was just a game away at No. 2. 

Next up for UCLA will be a Friday matchup in Lake Nona against the winner of the North Carolina/Oklahoma State match.  

UW Head Coach Robin Stephenson: “The loss today definitely hurts and we can’t believe it’s over. But this group has so much to be proud of this season. We have grown so much as a team and each of the girls have grown so much individually. They made amazing strides this year and will go down as one of the best teams in the history of the program. This is now the standard for our team and we are excited about the bright future ahead and understand what it takes to be at this level and beyond. We are happy with the progress we have made and want to build on the success. I’m so proud of everyone in our program and so appreciative of the support from our department and everyone in Seattle – it’s been an incredible ride this year.

“I am so incredibly proud of Stacey and Kenadi for their careers here and for who they are. They were part of my very first recruiting class and they have put UW women’s tennis back on the map and have been so committed to our vision since day one. They will leave a legacy behind that will be tough to match and have left this program so much better than they found it. I couldn’t be more proud to have coached them and to have watched them grow on and off the court.”

Kenadi Hance “It’s crazy that my time at UW has come to an end. It’s been such an incredible experience to learn and grow at such a prestigious university both on and off the court. i will forever be grateful for everyone on staff who has worked so hard to make an impact on my time here. This team is so special and the bond we have is something that I’ll never forget. The trajectory this program is going, stace and I can say we left this program much better than we found it. I think that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Stacey Fung “The past four years at UW have been amazing to say the least. Not only what’s happened on the court, but the friendships I have made and lessons that I have learned. I have grown so much as a person since my freshman year and I owe that all to the people I have been surrounded by and inspired by every day. I’m going to miss grinding out the early morning workouts and tough matches with my best friends, but will forever bleed purple! My senior year has been more than I could have ever imagined it to be and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a Husky.”

#7 UCLA 4, #10 Washington 0
5/10/2019 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #45 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #57 Stacey Fung (WASH) 6-4, 6-2
2. #32 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) vs. #92 Vanessa Wong (WASH) 7-6 (9-7), 5-3, unfinished
3. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) vs. Katarina Kopcalic (WASH) 2-6, 3-4, unfinished
4. Alaina Miller (UCLA) vs. Natsuho Arakawa (WASH) 6-4, 5-7, 3-0, unfinished
5. #120 Abi Altick (UCLA) def. Sedona Gallagher (WASH) 6-2, 7-5
6. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) def. Nika Zupancic (WASH) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #5 Gabby Andrews/Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) vs. #23 Stacey Fung/Nika Zupancic (WASH) 3-3, unfinished
2. #11 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Zoey Weil/Vanessa Wong (WASH) 6-3
3. #82 Abi Altick/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) def. Natsuho Arakawa/Kenadi Hance (WASH) 6-2
Match Notes:
Washington 21-5; National ranking #10
UCLA 21-7; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,1,5)
T-2:20