Defending Champion Babos Out of NCAAs in Second Round
©Colette Lewis 2007--
Athens, GA--
UCLA’S Ben Kohlloeffel withdrew before the individual tournament started, meaning the men were assured of a new champion before competition began. The 2006 women’s champion, Susie Babos of Cal-Berkeley, joins him on the sidelines after Stanford freshman Lindsay Burdette rolled past the left-hander from Hungary 6-4, 6-4 on another day of perfect weather in Athens.
“It feels amazing,” said Burdette, who played in the No. 6 position for the Cardinal. “Not just because she’s the defending champion, but I’ve seen her play multiple times with both of us being in the Pac-10, and she’s just a really good player.”
Babos didn’t play her best Thursday morning, but Burdette had something to do with that. She came in when given the opportunity, and finished with crisp volleys, a skill that has helped her move up to the No. 1 doubles position for the Cardinal.
As for playing low in the lineup , Burdette, who is from Jackson, Georgia, appreciates coach Lele Forood’s reasons for putting her in that slot.
“I think it was a really, really smart move on her part,” said Burdette, whose sister Erin won a NCAA doubles title for Stanford in Athens two years ago. “I got a lot of confidence this year, got a lot of ‘Ws’ under my belt, and I think that’s a great way to establish yourself in college tennis.”
At No. 5, Babos was the highest seed to fall in the second round, but No. 8 Megan Moulton-Levy of William and Mary, a semifinalist at last year’s NCAAs, also was upset, losing to UCLA’s Tracy Lin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Auburn freshman Fani Chifchieva, a No. 9 seed, lost to alternate Csilla Borsanyi of Florida 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. Stanford’s Theresa Logar (9), also a semifinalist in 2006, advanced with a 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over Catherine Newman of Vanderbilt, in a match that took over three and a half hours to complete.
The men also lost a top eight seed, with No. 7 Notre Dame’s Stephen Bass falling to sixth alternate Alex Slovic of Washington 6-3, 6-4. Erling Tveit of Ole Miss (9) was the victim of Ohio State’s Bryan Koniecko’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback. Luke Shields of Boise State (9) went down, literally, rolling an ankle in the middle of the first set and was eventually forced to retire to Robbye Poole of Ole Miss, trailing 6-4, 2-0.
All the surprises in the opening round of doubles came on the women's side, with three of the eight seeded teams losing. Yvette Hyndman and Darya Ivanov of Georgia (5) were taken down by Bianca Kulgheru and Sylvia Kosakowski of Pepperdine 6-4, 6-4 and Whitney McCray and Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech, the third seeds, were bounced by Elena Gantcheva and Kristina Nedeltcheva of UNLV 6-2, 6-2. Yasmin Schnack and Riza Zalameda of UCLA, All-Tournament at No. 1 doubles, weren't seeded, but their 4-6, 6-2, 62 victory over a fifth-seeded team of Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk from Kentucky wasn't unexpected, given their play in the team event.
For complete results, see georgiadogs.com.
9 comments:
I've had several questions about Kohlloffel's reasons for withdrawing. His back has been giving him trouble all year and he didn't feel he could win more than a couple of rounds. He is back in Los Angeles working to finish up his degree. Classes at UCLA don't end until mid-June.
Collette,
Correct me if I'm wrong (expecting that I am) but doesn't a trip to the Round of 16 at the NCAA's ensure a player All-American status?
If that is the case then Burdette would be looking at All-American honours in both singles and doubles (if, as expected, she and Yelsey make the quarter-finals). Given that Erin Burdette was a 6 time All-American (4 in doubles, 2 in singles) it made me wonder what the AA record was for siblings.
A useless bit of trivia but it is that time of year LOL.
AndrewD-
There are three ways to be named All-American: be seeded in the NCAAs, reach the round of 16 at the NCAAs (quarters for doubles) or finish in the top 20 of the ITA rankings.
If anyone knows what the record is for siblings, it would be Casey Angle of the ITA, but that may be beyond even his considerable scope.
Colette,
Thanks very much. I did mean to ask if you, or anyone else, could fill me in a bit on Megan Falcon and Melanie Gloria. Im aware of their rankings and season stats but not overly familiar with the style and quality of their play.
Isner and Levine one step closer to a semifinal showdown. Levine has no trouble with Flores, Isner struggled with Skupski before winning 6 & 5. I can actually see those 2 meeting in doubles as well. Levine has just rolled through his matches thus far.
Teri and Tami Whitlinger from Stanford probably have the highest total. Teri was AA all four years. Tami was 2 years. Not sure how many times each in s/d, but for sure they were a min. of 6 times, probably 8-9-10 time counting both - singles/doubles. - Casey
Celia Durkin led a 6-3,4-0 love-40 on Audra Cohen today. That's the biggest choke job against the top seed since David Lowenthal surrendered a set and 4-1 lead on Matias Boeker in 2002. That was sad to watch.
Then again right now Natalie Frazier has gone from 6-0,3-0 game point to now down a break at 1-2 in the 3rd.
what happened to defending men's champ? injury?
Kohlloeffel's back is bothering him. He is back at UCLA--they are still in school.
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